In the past few days, the news has been reporting that the Trump administration and Israel are discussing how to deal with Iran, but soon the news came out that Iran’s most senior nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated in a small town near Tehran. There is no direct evidence of this, and no one or organization has come forward to take responsibility for it. However, the situation in the Persian Gulf is becoming extremely tense.
The “father of the Iranian nuclear bomb” was shot dead at random.
Armed terrorists attacked a vehicle carrying Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the Defense Ministry’s Research and Innovation Agency, the Iranian Defense Ministry said in a Nov. 27 statement.
The statement said, “After his security guards rammed into the terrorist, Fakhrizadeh was seriously injured and taken to the hospital …… Unfortunately, medical teams were unable to cure him and he was pronounced dead a few minutes later.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said the terrorists blew up a car before shooting at Fahrizadeh’s car. Witnesses confirmed that there was an explosion at the scene and that there was heavy gunfire. Some media reported that the attackers shot at Fahrizadeh, who was inside the car. Other witnesses told official Iranian media that three to four “terrorists” were killed instantly.
Iranian state television subsequently posted a photo of the road blocked by security forces on its website. Photos and videos shared online showed a Nissan sedan with bullet holes in the windshield and blood pooling on the road.
The Times of Israel concluded that it was a premeditated attack, but did not give an inference as to who was responsible. The area around the town of Abu Sad is filled with the vacation homes of Iran’s elite, with views of Mount Damavand, the country’s highest peak. Friday afternoon in Iran had settled into a weekend rhythm, and combined with the new crown pandemic blockade, the roads were emptier than normal, providing Fahrizade’s attackers with an opportunity to strike with few people around.
Western intelligence agencies have long believed that Fakhrizadeh played a significant role in Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program. A Western diplomat told Reuters in 2014, “If Iran chooses to go nuclear, then Fakhrizadeh will be the father of the Iranian nuclear bomb.
Fakhrizadeh is the brains of Iran’s nuclear program, and he was responsible for the Tehran regime’s attempts to develop a nuclear bomb in the early 2000s. The physics professor, believed to be in his 60s, was also identified by intelligence officials as the ringleader of the Amad program, which sought to develop six nuclear bombs. The program sought to develop six nuclear warheads, but was halted in 2003 by order of the Iranian leadership. Fakhrizadeh’s work in recent years is reportedly no longer directly related to Iran’s nuclear sub-facilities.
Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated. This made Fakhrizadeh aware that he was under a dangerous spotlight. Subsequently, the Iranian government increased protection for Fakhrizadeh and he kept a low profile, but today’s events prove that it was not safe enough after all.
Iran Believes Israel Is Responsible
Israel has been accused of being involved in the assassination of four Iranian scientists, and Israel has been concerned about Fakhrizadeh, so as soon as the assassination occurred, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said that Iran’s worst enemy, Israel, may have been involved in the killing of Fakhrizadeh, which he described as an act of national terrorism. Iranian media are also pointing fingers at Israel.
Israeli agents stole thousands of Iranian documents in 2018 confirming Fahrizadeh’s inextricable link to Iran’s weapons program, including several files containing Fahrizadeh’s signature instructing his unit to carry out key tests of a nuclear device. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons in 2018, he named Fahrizadeh as secretly leading the development of nuclear weapons under another name, and publicly claimed that it was the first photo of Fahrizadeh, stating that the outside world should “remember that name.
What’s more, the U.S. media outlet Axios just recently quoted senior Israeli officials as saying that the IDF had been instructed in recent weeks to prepare for a possible U.S. military strike on Iran before Trump leaves office.
According to Reuters, Iran’s representative to the UN has written to UN Secretary-General Guterres and the Security Council, saying that “there are serious indications that Israel is responsible.
There has been no response from Israel on the matter yet. As for Trump, he retweeted a tweet by Israeli Haaretz journalist Yossi Melman after Fahrizade’s death. Melman wrote, “According to Iranian reports, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in Damavand, east of Tehran. He was the head of a secret Iranian military program and had been wanted by the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) for years. His death is a major blow to Iran, both on a psychological and operational level.
Of course, it will also have a major impact on Biden, who has been promising to restore diplomatic relations with Iran.
Retaliation on the horizon?
Since Iran withdrew from the nuclear deal, the country has grown its reserves of enriched uranium, but still insists that it is intended for use in nuclear power plants and research reactors. But Iran’s arch-enemy claims that this makes it more likely that Tehran will develop warhead-grade material for a nuclear warhead.
And Hossein Dehghan, a military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, has sworn vengeance. Dehghan tweeted, “We will launch a lightning strike against the culprits who killed this martyr and make them regret their actions.
The Iranian public’s anger was also stoked. According to media reports, protests broke out in Tehran on the 27th, with crowds gathering in front of the presidential palace, chanting “No compromise, no surrender, fight America! There were slogans, and people stepping on American and Israeli flags.
In fact, the Fakhrizadeh assassination ambush is the third high-profile attack in a year that has rocked the Tehran government.
In January, a U.S. drone killed Iran’s top military commander, Qassem Soleimani, and in August, Israeli agents, acting on U.S. instructions, killed Al Qaeda’s number two man, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, inside Iranian territory.
Iran may have run out of patience. This has made the situation extremely tense.
Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli air force general, said, “For the remainder of Trump’s term, such a terrorist attack could lead to armed retaliation on the Iranian side, which could give the U.S. a pretext to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israeli officials said the IDF is preparing for possible Iranian retaliation, either directly against Israel or through proxies in Syria, the Gaza Strip, and Lebanon.
And a U.S. defense official said on July 27 that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is returning to the Persian Gulf region with several warships to provide combat support and air cover for U.S. forces. The deployment was decided before the news of the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist, but in any case, these actions send a message of increased deterrence to Iran. It remains to be seen how Iran will respond.
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