Iran Says Nuclear Scientist Killed By ‘Drone’

A senior Iranian security official accused Israel of using “electronic devices” to remotely kill a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program in the 2000s.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, made the comment at Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s funeral, where Iran’s defense minister separately promised to continue the man’s work “with more speed and more power.”

Israel, suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack.

Fakhrizadeh spearheaded Iran’s so-called AMAD program, which Israel and the West have alleged was a military operation seeking the viability of building a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the “structured program” ended in 2003. US intelligence agencies agreed with that assessment in a 2007 report.

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Israel insists that Iran still maintains ambition to develop nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Shamkhani’s comments drastically change the story of Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, which took place on Friday. Authorities initially said a truck exploded and then gunmen opened fire on the scientist, killing him and a bodyguard. State television even interviewed a man the night of the attack who described seeing armed men open fire.

State TV Press TV’s English-language broadcaster reported early Monday that a weapon recovered from the scene of the attack bore “the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry.” State TV Arabic channel, Al-alam, claimed that the weapons used were “controlled by satellite,” a claim also made Sunday by the semi-official Fars news agency.

None of the outlets immediately offered evidence to support their claims, which also gives authorities a way to explain why no one was reportedly arrested at the scene.

“Unfortunately, the operation was very complicated and was carried out using electronic devices,” Shamkhani told state television. “No individual was present at the site.”

Satellite gun control is nothing new. Long-range armed drones, for example, rely on satellite connections to be controlled by their remote pilots. There are also remotely controlled gun turrets, but they generally see their operator connected by a hard line to reduce the delay in the commands being transmitted. Israel uses such hard-wired systems along the border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

While technically feasible, it was not immediately clear if such a system had been used before, said Jeremy Binnie, Middle East editor of Jane’s Defense Weekly.

“Could you configure a weapon with a camera that then has a feed that uses an open satellite communications line back to the controller?” Binnie said. “I don’t see why that is not possible.”

He also raised the question of whether the truck that exploded during the attack later detonated in an attempt to destroy a satellite-controlled machine gun that was hidden inside the vehicle. Iranian officials did not immediately recognize him. It would also require someone on the ground to place the weapon.

Shamkhani also blamed the group of Iranian exiles Mujahedeen-e-Khalq for “having a role in this,” without elaborating. The MEK, as the exile group is known, has been suspected of assisting in Israeli operations in Iran in the past. Shahin Gobadi, a MEK spokesman, dismissed Shamkhani’s comments as “anger, rancor and lies” sparked by the group’s earlier revelations about Iran’s nuclear program.

Monday’s service for Fakhrizadeh took place in an open-air part of the Iranian Defense Ministry in Tehran, with officials including the head of the Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, the leader of the Guard’s Quds Force, General Esmail Ghaani, the head of the civil nuclear program Ali Akbar Sahei and intelligence minister Mamoud Alavi. They sat apart and wore masks due to the coronavirus pandemic while reciters melodically read parts of the Quran and religious texts.

Defense Minister Amir Hatami delivered a speech after kissing Fakhrizadeh’s coffin and putting his forehead against it. He said Fakhrizadeh’s assassination would make Iranians “more united, more determined.”

“For the continuation of his path, we will continue with more speed and more power,” Hatami said in comments broadcast live on state television.

Hatami also criticized countries that had not condemned Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, warning: “This will catch up with you one day.”

Overnight, the United Arab Emirates, which has just reached a normalization agreement with Israel, issued a statement condemning “the heinous murder.” The United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, warned that the carnage “could further fuel the conflict in the region.”

Last year, the United Arab Emirates found itself in the middle of a growing series of incidents between Iran and the United States. Although long-held suspicious of Iran’s nuclear program, the Emirates have said they want to reduce the crisis. The UAE has just started passenger air service to Israel and Israelis are expected to vacation in the country during Hanukkah in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the director general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alon Ushpiz, cabled all Israeli diplomatic delegations around the world urging diplomats to maintain “the highest level of preparedness and awareness of any irregular activity” in Jewish missions and community centers.

Hebrew-language media in Israel reported that after Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, the Foreign Ministry ordered increased security at certain Israeli diplomatic missions abroad. The ministry declined to comment on diplomatic security issues.