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A senior Iranian nuclear physicist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed in an ambush near Iran’s capital Tehran on Friday.
Fakhrizadeh was shot “by terrorists” in his vehicle in Absard, a suburb in eastern Tehran, and later succumbed to his injuries in what was described as a “martyr’s death,” according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, who was long suspected by Western and Israeli intelligence of leading the nation’s military nuclear program until its dissolution in the early 2000s.
But some have pointed the finger at Israel and the United States for the assassination, which threatens to increase tensions between Tehran and Washington in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Here’s how the world has reacted to Fakhrizadeh’s assassination so far:
Iran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei said Iran’s first priority after the assassination was the “ultimate punishment of the perpetrators and those who ordered it”, while President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of being behind the assassination.
“Once again, the evil hands of global arrogance were stained with the blood of the mercenary usurping Zionist regime,” Rouhani said in a statement.
The country’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also accused Israel of carrying out the attack.
Terrorists today assassinated an eminent Iranian scientist. This cowardice, with serious indications of the role of Israel, shows a desperate warmongering of the perpetrators.
Iran calls on the international community, and especially the EU, to end its shameful double standards and condemn this act of state terror.
– Javad Zarif (@JZarif) November 27, 2020
Israel
Cabinet Minister for Settlement Affairs Tzachi Hanegbi said he “had no idea” who was behind Fakhrizadeh’s assassination.
“I have no idea who did it. It’s not that my lips are sealed because I’m responsible, I really have no idea, ”Hanegbi, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told N12’s Meet the Press.
European Union
A statement by a spokesman for the European Union called Fakhrizadeh’s murder “a criminal act” that “contravenes the principle of respect for human rights upheld by the EU.”
He also urged all parties to show “calm and utmost restraint.”
“In these uncertain times, it is more important than ever that all parties remain calm and exercise the utmost restraint to avoid an escalation that cannot benefit anyone,” the statement said.
Qatar
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani condemned the murder in a phone call with Zarif.
In the phone call, Sheikh Mohammed said that “such measures will only add fuel to the fire at a time when the region and the international community are looking for ways to reduce tension and return to the table of dialogue and diplomacy.” according to QNA, the Qatari state news agency.
He also extended Qatari condolences to the government and people of Iran and called for self-control.
United Nations
The UN condemned Fakhrizadeh’s assassination and urged restraint to avoid “escalating tensions.”
“We urge restraint and the need to avoid any action that may lead to an escalation of tensions in the region,” said a UN spokesman. “We condemn any murder or extrajudicial execution.”
Syria
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused Israel and “those who supported it” of being behind Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, an act he said would only fuel further tensions in the region.
Mekdad was quoted by state media as telling the Iranian envoy in Damascus that Syria was confident that Iran would confront what he called a “terrorist act.”
Turkey
The Turkish parliamentary speaker referred to those responsible for the murder as “terrorists”.
“The murder of the Iranian scientist was an act of terrorism. It doesn’t matter if it was committed by an illegal or ‘legal’ organization or a state, “Mustafa Sentop said on Twitter.
The murder of an Iranian scientist is an act of terrorism. It does not matter if it is committed by an illegal or “legal” organization or a state. Terrorism is always terrorism, everyone who commits an act of terrorism is a terrorist. We oppose the illegality in intl. sand.
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sentop (@Mustafa Sentop) November 28, 2020
Germany
Germany called for calm and said that all parties should avoid taking measures that could lead to escalation.
“We call on all parties to avoid taking any action that may lead to a further escalation of the situation” which “we absolutely do not need at this time,” said a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry.
Venezuela
Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza condemned the attack on Twitter, calling the scientist’s murder a “terrorist attack.”
#RELEASE | Venezuela condemns the assassination of the eminent Iranian scientist, Dr. Mohsen Fajrizade, President of the Defense Research and Innovation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who lost his life in a terrorist attack in the vicinity of Tehran. pic.twitter.com/hWQDvLGESS
– Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) November 27, 2020
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