It could be an attempt to destroy Biden – VG

Iran accuses Israel of being behind the attack. The same thing American intelligence sources have told the New York Times: that Israel was behind this. Israel has yet to comment on the incident.

Background: Leader of Iran’s nuclear program killed in assassination

The United States and Israel are close allies, and Iran is among the latter’s main rivals in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump and his administration have taken a tougher line against Iran than his predecessor Barack Obama, among other things, exiting the nuclear deal with the country and imposing severe sanctions on the country.

At the same time, the US president has strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia, another of Iran’s rivals in the region.

– The assassination may be a provocation that aims to increase tension in this somewhat critical and tense phase, that is, the final phase of Trump’s presidency, NUPI researcher Kjetil Selvik tells VG.

– It appears to be part of an attempt to hinder Biden’s return to the nuclear deal. Both on the part of Israel, and to that extent also on the part of the Trump administration. Trump, Israel and Saudi Arabia are on the same line and do not want the United States to enter the nuclear deal.

So does Robert Malley, Obama’s former adviser, on Iran issues.

Think revenge threats are real

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot and killed in an ambush on Friday.

He is supposedly Iran’s top nuclear scientist and, according to American and Israeli intelligence, the mastermind behind the country’s secret nuclear weapons programs.

Fakhrizadeh traveled by car through northern Iran. The perpetrators waited along the road and attacked near Absard in the Damavand region, according to Iranian media. He was taken to the hospital and then died there.

Iran has reacted strongly to the incident and promises prosecution and revenge against those responsible. In turn, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani have accused Israel of being behind, while Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has promised a backlash.

Rouhani also accused Israel of being a US mercenary in connection with the assassination and suggested that the Americans had played a role.

Selvik believes Iran will carry out a revenge operation, but does not believe it will happen immediately.

– I think the threats of revenge are real, but the big question is if they do it before Trump leaves, he says.

– Iran has a broader perspective on retaliation. They also vowed revenge after the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani earlier this year, but that has yet to happen. It will happen at a time when Iran feels it is a little stronger than it is now, he says.

– Not irreplaceable

The United States imposed sanctions on Fakhrizadeh in 2008, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called him the father of Iran’s nuclear program.

However, the head of Iran’s nuclear agency, Ali-Akbar Salehi, promises that the carnage will not stop or hinder the nuclear program.

Selvik does not believe that the nuclear scientist is an irreplaceable loss to the Iranians.

– I don’t think it’s indispensable. The competition it had is likely to be found elsewhere, he says.

– It was more of a symbol of how much Iran has achieved. It’s easy for Iran to present this as if the entire nation has been affected, says Selvik.

Whether he actually ran secret nuclear weapons programs is difficult to confirm or deny.

– This is a highly debated question, says the researcher.