Iran believes that Israel and an exiled opposition group used a remote-controlled weapon to kill its top nuclear scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh on Friday.
During Fakhrizadeh's funeral in Tehran, Iran's security chief Ali Shamkhani said the attackers used electronic equipment and were not present at the scene of the incident.
However, he did not give any more information about it. Initially, the Iranian Ministry of Defense said that Fakhrizadeh's car was targeted by some gunmen and he was shot at the same time.
Israel has not commented on Iran's claims yet. In the early 2000s, Fakhrizadeh played a key role in Iran's nuclear program.
The most important thing is that recently Israel had said about Fakhrizadeh that he is engaged in developing Iran's secret nuclear weapon.
Iran has always been saying that its nuclear program is not for developing weapons. Fakhrizadeh's funeral took place on the campus of Iran's Ministry of Defense in Tehran. Some remains of funerals were handed over to a cemetery in northern Tehran.
Iran's official TV showed that soldiers and senior officers were carrying the Fakhrizadeh's coffin wrapped in the Iranian national flag. Among them, intelligence minister Mahmood Alavi, Revolutionary Corps Commander General Hussein Salami, and Atomic Program Head Ali Akbar Salehi offered prayers in Fakhrizadeh's tribute.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Admiral Shamkhani said at Fakhrizadeh's funeral program that Iranian intelligence and security services had already foreseen Fakhrizadeh's murder plot. He said that there was already a possibility of such an attack.
Shamkhani said, "Necessary measures were taken to protect them, but the enemies used a completely new way. This murder has been executed professionally and especially. Unfortunately, our enemies were successful in this. It was a very complex mission because electronic equipment has been used in it. No one was present at the scene of the incident.
Admiral Shamkhani said that some clues have been found of the perpetrators of this murder. He said, "It has been involved with the Jewish opposition and the Mossad-led Iranian opposition group Mujahideen-e Khalq (MKO)."
Mossad is the intelligence agency of Israel and Jewish rule has been used for Israel. The MKO is an exiled opposition faction of Iran that opposes the structure of the current government in the country. This statement came from Iran when the Fars news agency has said that the use of remote-controlled machine gun in the killing of Fakhrizadeh.
According to the report of Arabic-language Al-Alam TV, such weapons are used through satellite control. When the Iranian nuclear scientist was killed on Friday, the Defense Ministry said that armed militants had targeted Fakhrizadeh's car in eastern Tehran.
The ministry had said that Fakhrizadeh was shot in the crossfire between his security guards and the attackers and died during this time. In the pictures posted on social media, it is seen that debris and blood are scattered with the car riddled with bullets.
At Fakhrizadeh's funeral on Monday, Iran's Defense Minister General Aamir Hatami reiterated the pledge that the assassination would be avenged.
Aamir said, "The enemies know and as a soldier, I am telling them that the people of Iran will answer each one."
The Iranian Defense Minister said that Fakhrizadeh was doing important work in the Organization of Defense Innovation and Research. Iran is working here for nuclear security.
In Persian, this organization is called SPND. Iranian Defense Minister said that SPND's budget will be doubled so that the path of 'martyr doctor' can be achieved more quickly.
What does the local media say?
Iran's media emphasizes two things. The first is to avenge the assassination of the Iranian scientist, and the second is that Iran should not be deceived by Israel because it wants to increase tensions and ruin Iran's nuclear program.
The Israeli media is raising questions about the timing of the attack. Analysts say Israel will not remain silent if the newly-elected President of the United States, Biden restores the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. Along with this, the speculation of the Iranian attack is also fast.
The Saudi Arabian media has been reporting prominently on Iran's killing of an important nuclear scientist. Iran is a rival of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia continues to worry about Iran's nuclear program. Al-Sharq al-Awasat newspaper featured a cartoon that mocked the Iranian Revolutionary Corps' capability. Al-Arabiya TV's website asks if the killing of Fakhrizadeh will have any effect on Biden's view of Iran?
Israeli intelligence minister Illy Cohen said in a radio interview Monday that he does not know who is behind the Iranian nuclear scientist's murder.
However, a senior Israeli official tracking Iran's nuclear activities has told the New York Times on condition of anonymity that Fukhrizadeh was furthering Iranian ambitions for nuclear weapons and thanked the world for avoiding these threats. Should be
Israeli and Western defense sources say Fakhrizadeh was a key contributor to Iran's nuclear program. Iran has been working on research for the atomic bomb since 1989.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Iran project was shut down in 2003.
However, Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu said in 2018 that according to the documents he has, Fakhrizadeh is secretly working on Iran's nuclear program and Iran's Amad project has not stopped. In his presentation, Netanyahu told people to never forget Fakhrizadeh's name.
Iran has accused Israel of killing four more of its nuclear scientists between 2010 and 2012.
Analysts say that Iran's nuclear program will not be crippled by Fakhrizadeh's assassination. But next year, when the United States comes to power in Biden, the effort to restore the nuclear deal of 2015 with Iran will be affected.
In 2015, US President Donald Trump ended the nuclear agreement with Iran. Trump said the agreement was faulty. Trump had imposed several stringent sanctions and tried to force Iranian leaders to a new settlement.
Iran refused to do so and also rejected the uranium enrichment limit. Fuel can be prepared through nuclear reactors with uranium enrichment, but nuclear bombs can also be made from it.
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