Iran’s national security chief said the architect behind Iran’s military nuclear program, who was assassinated last week, was killed remotely by Israel through “electronic devices.”
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the allegation at the funeral of the murdered scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Often referred to as the Robert Oppenheimer of Iran, the Fakhrizadeh was killed in Absard, to the east of Tehran, on Friday in broad daylight.
“Unfortunately, the operation was a very complicated operation and was carried out by using electronic devices,” Shamkhani told state TV. “No individual was present at the site.”
At the event, Iran’s defense minister vowed to continue Fakhrizadeh’s work “with more speed and more power,” according to the Associated Press.
Shamankhi’s claims contradict statements from authorities at the time. Officials first said the assassination involved a truck exploding and gunmen opening fire on the scientist. State TV interviewed a man on the night of the attack, who described gunmen opening fire.
A remote attack raises questions about how events unfolded during the assassination. Jane’s Defence Weekly editor Jeremy Binnie said he “can’t see why [it’s] not possible” that someone set up a weapon with a camera that streamed to someone controlling it via satellite, but it would have required someone to set up the weapon beforehand.
The truck explosion could have been an attempt to destroy evidence of a satellite-controlled machine gun hidden inside the vehicle.
Last week, Press TV, a state-sanctioned English language channel, reported that a weapon recovered from the scene had “the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry. Both the state’s Arabic-language TV channel al Alam and the semiofficial Fars news agency have said the weapons were “controlled by satellite.”
None of the outlets have presented evidence to support their claims. Israel has repeatedly declined to comment on the incident.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iranian media noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed interest in Fakhrizadeh in the past and referenced the scientist in 2018 when Israel revealed its evidence of Iran’s secret nuclear program. At the time, he told people to “remember his name.”
Foreshadowing today‘s alleged assassination? Netanyahu mentions name of Iran nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh during 2018 presentation of Mossad intell haul revealing Iran’s secret nuclear program. “Remember his name,” Netanyahu says.
Go to to 9:50 in video.https://t.co/2hI1vtqJL7— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) November 27, 2020
Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, also has a history of confirmed and alleged assassinations conducted in a similar manner to that of the Iranian scientist.
Without providing evidence, Shamkhani also claimed that Mujahedeen e Khalq, a militant group that advocates overthrowing the current regime and installing its own government, had “a role in this.”
If Israel did conduct the attack, it could strain the diplomatic relations established this year with a number of Middle Eastern countries — the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The UAE condemned the “heinous assassination” and warned that it “could further fuel conflict in the region.”
