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The man, who is described as one of the masterminds of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, was killed in an assassination attempt outside Tehran on Friday.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accuses Israel of being behind this.
In a statement on his website on Saturday, Rouhani said that Iran: – It must respond to the attack in a timely manner.
He also accuses Israel of being US mercenaries in connection with the assassination.
Israeli embassies around the world are on high alert following the threat, reports the Israeli news agency N12.
The car Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was in when he was killed.
Photo: APPhoto: AP
Requires harsh punishment
Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demands harsh punishment for those behind him.
“One of the country’s leading scientists in the nuclear and defense fields, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, has been martyred by brutal mercenaries,” Khamenei wrote on Twitter.
He also says that the slaughter will not stop or hinder the development of the nuclear program.
Protesters burn the flags of the United States and Israel. Tehran, November 28.
Photo: Wana / ReutersPhoto: Wana / Reuters
“The father of the nuclear program”
Fakhrizadeh was considered a key figure in Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons, writes the Washington Post.
The nuclear weapons program formally ended in 2003, due to pressure from Western nations.
In 2008, the United States imposed sanctions on Fakhrizadeh. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called him the father of Iran’s nuclear program.
The nuclear scientist was shot in what Iranian authorities describe as an ambush.
Photo: APPhoto: AP
Create difficulties for Biden
Israeli authorities have yet to comment on the case, but the Israeli intelligence service Mossad is accused of having killed at least four Iranian nuclear investigators previously.
The New York Times reports that they have received confirmation from three US officials that Israel was behind it.
The attack threatens to increase tensions between Iran and the United States, as Donald Trump will soon resign as president. The situation could complicate things for the incoming president, Joe Biden.
Biden wants to revive the Iran-West nuclear deal, from which Trump pulled the United States.
A protester holds up a photo of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Tehran, November 28.
Photo: Wana / ReutersPhoto: Wana / Reuters
Germany urges calm
German authorities call for calm on Saturday after Tehran promised to avenge the attack.
“We call on all parties to prevent a further escalation of the situation,” a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
“Just a few weeks before a new government takes office in the United States, dialogue with Iran must be maintained to resolve the conflict over Iran’s nuclear program,” the AFP spokesman said.
