Assassination of an Iranian Nuclear Scientist Chills Biden’s Efforts vs. Iran’s Efforts to Thaw Iran

Ayatollah Ebrahim Laishi (center), head of the Iranian judiciary, offers his condolences to the body of Iranian nuclear scientist Mosen Parkrizade, who was assassinated on the 28th. [AP=연합뉴스]

Mosen Parkrizade, the highest-ranking scientist who led Iran’s nuclear development, was killed in a shooting on 27 (local time). Iran declared it an act of terror by Israel and vowed to retaliate.

According to Iran’s state-run Fars news agency and the British BBC broadcast, Parc Lizade was ambushed and killed in Avsard, a small town east of Tehran. At that time he was moving in a vehicle and an explosive exploded in a truck near the vehicle. Immediately after the explosion, three or four armed men fired at the vehicle. Parkrizade was seriously injured and taken to hospital, but eventually died.

Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Hamenei on Twitter on the 28th said: “Our great scientist Parcrizade was killed by the enemy who has oppressed us. All we have to do is retaliate against those who have committed these things, and against all martyr Parcrizade It is to continue scientific activities in all fields “. Iranian President Hassan Rohany also criticized in a statement the day before that “the evil hand of ‘global arrogance’ used the Zionist as a mercenary.” In fact, they pointed Israel back.

Netanyahu names dead scientist in charge of nuclear development

Debris is strewn on the road to Absard, a small town near Tehran, where Parc Lizade died on the 27th. The attacked vehicle was shot through the windshield. Before the shooting, explosives also exploded from a truck near the road. [로이터=연합뉴스]

In fact, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has been targeting Parc Lizade for years, foreign media said. At a press conference in 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Parc Lizade as director and said that he had obtained data on Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program. “Remember that name,” he said.

Parkrizade was a nuclear scientist and head of the Research and Innovation Organization of the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Western intelligence agencies believe it carried out a secret program to develop a nuclear warhead under the guise of a civilian uranium enrichment program.

Foreign media reported that he led the ‘Mad Project’, a nuclear weapons development plan carried out by Iran in 1999-2003. A Western diplomat told Reuters in 2014 that “if Iran enriched uranium with nuclear enriched uranium, Parkrizade will be the father of Iran’s nuclear bombs.”

However, even in Israel, which has targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and nuclear scientists, the actual assassination of a giant like Parkrizade is a different story. Notably, this incident occurred amid a high possibility that the next US government would reinstate the Iranian nuclear deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks about Iran’s nuclear scientist Park Lizade at a press conference in 2018. [로이터=연합뉴스]

In 2015, the Barack Obama administration agreed to a Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed at easing sanctions against Iran, while Iran halted significant nuclear development, including the production of highly enriched uranium. But President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, and Iran confronted him and resumed uranium enrichment.

Elect Joe Biden said he would return to the nuclear deal from his days as a candidate. On the 22nd, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu objected that “the past nuclear deal cannot be returned,” and Iranian President Rohany said on the 25th that “the United States and Iran will be able to return the relationship between the two countries to the situation before Trump to take office. ” It was a place to express yourself.

If it is true that Israel is behind the scenes, diplomats have observed that the purpose of such a “fight” during the transitional period of the US administration is to prevent the reestablishment of US-Iran relations, in addition to cracking down on the nuclear program. from Iran. Lee Hee-soo, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Hanyang University, analyzed: “It seems a strategy to pour cold water into the atmosphere of reconciliation between the next government of Biden and Iran.”

When Iran retaliates, Trump can be used to retaliate against him.

In fact, this also applies to President Trump’s interest in interfering with the Biden administration. That is why it is said that Israel would not have eliminated Park Rizade without the tacit consent of the United States.

The New York Times (NYT) reported that US government officials and intelligence officials believe Israel is behind Parkrizade’s assassination. However, officially, neither the United States nor Israel have spoken.

The Biden Transition Committee also took no position. However, with this incident, the NYT reported that Biden’s Transition Committee was faced with the task of fixing the situation before the government was launched on January 20 of next year. He also diagnosed that whether the United States could return to the Iranian nuclear deal depends on Iran’s response. This is because if Iran takes extreme measures, it will be a bad thing for Biden-elect, who is trying to restore relations with Iran. President Trump at the end of his term could be used to retaliate against Iran.

There is also the possibility that Iran will adjust the water level. Professor Hee-Soo Lee said: “I do not think Iran will be caught in a situation that will be an obstacle to the restoration of the nuclear deal,” he predicted.

Meanwhile, regarding this incident, a UN official told AFP: “We urge you to avoid and refrain from any action that may lead to an increase in the conflict in the region. We condemn the murder or extrajudicial execution.”

Reporter Lim Sun-young [email protected]