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The attack sparked the prospect of a new conflict between Iran and Israel. Press TV reported that the weapon used to kill Fakhrizadeh was made in Israel.
“The weapons collected at the scene of the terrorist act bear the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry,” an anonymous source told AFP. Press TV.
In Jerusalem, there was no immediate response from Israeli officials who were contacted for comment on the reports.(Also read: Iran will give a calculated response to the assassination of its nuclear scientist)
Speaking on Press TV, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen told 103 FM radio station on Monday that he did not know who was responsible for the attack. (See infographic: Chinese spacecraft successfully entered lunar orbit)
Fakhrizadeh is not well known in Iran, but has been named by Israel as a major player in Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He died Friday when he was ambushed on a highway near Tehran and his car was hit by bullets. (Watch Video: Police Will Call 10 People Regarding Reports Against UMMI Hospital)
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani told state television: “This is a very complicated assassination carried out remotely with an electronic device.”
“We have some clues, but for sure the ‘Monafeghin’ group is involved and the criminal elements behind it are the Zionist regime (Israel) and the Mossad,” he said, referring to Israel’s foreign intelligence service, Mossad.
“Monafeghin” is a term used by the office to refer to the National Assembly of Iran (NCRI) based in Paris.
NCRI is an umbrella group of the opposition in exile that wants to end the rule of Shiite Muslim clerics in Iran.
Iran began Fakhrizadeh’s burial in a cemetery in northern Tehran on Monday. The Iranian Defense Ministry promised they would avenge the murder.
Iranian clerics and military blame Israel for Fakhrizadeh’s murder.
Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars said on Sunday that Fakhrizadeh was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun.
Arabic television Al Alam reported that the weapons used in the attack were “controlled by satellite.”
When asked about possible retaliation from Iran, Cohen told radio station 103: “We have the supremacy of regional intelligence, and on this we are ready. We are raising awareness, where it is needed.”
The editor-in-chief of Iran’s hardline newspaper, Kayhan, in his view, called for an attack on the Israeli port city of Haifa on Sunday, if Israel’s role in Fakhrizadeh’s assassination was proven.
However, Iran is aware of the terrible military and political difficulties in attacking Israel.
Such an attack would also complicate any attempt by US President-elect Joe Biden to re-escalate tensions with Tehran after he took office on January 20.
Tehran-Washington tensions have risen since 2018, when Trump resigned from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with six world powers. Trump then reimposed sanctions that had paralyzed the Iranian economy.
In retaliation, Tehran has gradually violated restrictions on its nuclear program. Biden said he would return the United States to the deal if Iran continued to comply.
(sya)
