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- Iranian President Hassan Rohani has accused the United States and Israel of being behind the assassination of nuclear physicist Mohsen Fachrisadeh.
- The US media also express their suspicions and ask questions about the role of the United States.
- UN Secretary General António Guterres urged restraint after the attack.
“Once again, imperialism and its Zionist mercenaries caused bloodshed and the death of an Iranian scientist,” Rohani said on state television on Saturday. The “terrorist attack” only shows the fear of Tehran’s enemies about the technological progress of the Islamic Republic.
However, the assassination will not prevent the country from following Fachrisadeh’s path even more consistently, the president said. The secret service and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) are investigating the attack.
Was the Trump administration informed?
Fachrisadeh was shot in his car on Friday in Ab-Sard, a suburb east of the capital Tehran, and was so seriously injured that he died shortly afterwards in a hospital. Tehran’s Defense Ministry spoke of a “martyr’s death.” The nuclear physicist was a member of the Revolutionary Guard and an expert in the manufacture of rockets. Most recently, he headed the investigation department of the Ministry of Defense.
The “New York Times” (Saturday, online) reported that a US representative and two intelligence officials had stated that Israel was behind the attack. It is not clear if the US government was informed in advance, but both states are closest allies. There were reports in the US media that a US naval unit had been relocated to the Persian Gulf, which was justified by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Moderation required
UN Secretary General António Guterres urged restraint after the attack. “We ask for restraint and we see it necessary to avoid measures that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region,” said a UN spokesman for the German Press Agency on Friday (local time) in New York.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Majid Tacht, reminded Guterres in a letter that several Iranian scientists had been killed in attacks in recent years. The assassination of Fachrisadeh is another attempt to drive the region into chaos and disrupt Iran’s scientific development.
In the summer, a series of fires and explosions damaged infrastructure and nuclear facilities in Iran. At the time, there was also speculation about Israel as the creator, especially since Israel repeatedly attacks Iranian military installations in Syria.
Israel’s interests
Tehran watchers also saw the attack as an attempt by Israel and the administration of US President Donald Trump to torpedo a new beginning in relations between Tehran and Washington. The US government, Biden’s team and Israel initially did not comment on the assassination.
Israel accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons alongside the civilian nuclear program, which threatens its very existence. Trump had rescinded an international agreement that was supposed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb in 2018 and has since sought to cause Iran significant economic damage with tough sanctions against key industries.
