[ad_1]
Tehran, Iran – A senior Iranian security official on Monday accused Israel of using “electronic devices” to remotely kill a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program in the 2000s.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, made the comment during the funeral of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, where the Iranian defense minister separately vowed to continue the man’s work “with more speed and more. to be able to”.
Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade, declined to comment on the attack.
IRAN PLANS ‘CALCULATED’ RESPONSE AFTER NUCLEAR SCIENTIFIC KILLED AS NEWSPAPER CALLS FOR VENGEANCE ON THE CITY OF ISRAELI
In this photo released by the official Iranian Ministry of Defense website, soldiers stand near the flag-draped coffin of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a scientist who was killed on Friday, during a funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. Monday, November 30. 2020. Fakhrizadeh founded the Iranian military nuclear program two decades ago, and the Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic has pledged to continue the work of man “with greater speed and more power.” (Iranian Ministry of Defense via AP)
Fakhrizadeh led Iran’s so-called AMAD program, which Israel and the West said was a military operation examining the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the “structured program” ended in 2003. US intelligence agencies endorsed this assessment in a 2007 report.
Israel insists Iran still maintains the ambition to develop nuclear weapons, highlighting Tehran’s ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Shamkhani’s remarks dramatically change the story of Fakhrizadeh’s murder on Friday. Authorities first said that a truck exploded, then gunmen opened fire on the scientist, killing him.
British state television channel Press TV earlier reported that a weapon recovered from the scene of the attack bore “the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry.” The Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam claimed the weapons used were “controlled by satellite,” a statement also made on Sunday by the semi-official Fars news agency.
EUROPEAN UNION CONDEMNS CONDUCT OF IRANIAN SCIENTIST AS “ CRIMINAL ACT ”
None of the outlets immediately offered evidence to support their claims.
“Unfortunately, the operation was a very complicated operation and was carried out using electronic devices,” Shamkhani told state television. “No individual was present on the site.”
Shamkhani also blamed the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq for “playing a role in this”, without giving further details. The MEK did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian justice chief Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi pays tribute to the body of murdered scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh among his family in Tehran, Iran on Saturday, November 28, 2020. Iranian officials have accused Israel of the murder of Fakhrizadeh, who directed Tehran’s dissolved military nuclear power. program. (Mizan News Agency via AP)
Monday’s service for Fakhrizadeh took place in an outside part of the Iranian Defense Ministry in Tehran, with officials including the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, the head of the Quds Force of the Guard, General Esmail Ghaani, civilian nuclear program chief Ali Akbar Sahei and intelligence minister Mamoud Alavi. . They sat separated from each other and wore masks due to the coronavirus pandemic as reciters melodically read parts of the Quran and religious texts.
Defense Minister General Amir Hatami delivered a speech after kissing Fakhrizadeh’s coffin and laying his forehead on him. He said the assassination of Fakhrizadeh would make the Iranians “more united, more determined”.
“To continue on your way, we will continue with more speed and more power,” Hatami said in commentary broadcast live by State TV.
USS NIMITZ ORDERED TO RETURN TO PERSIAN GULF AFTER IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER THREATS VENGEANCE ON SCIENTIST TASSÉ
Hatami also criticized countries that did not condemn Fakhrizadeh’s murder, warning: “It will catch up with you someday.” Overnight, the United Arab Emirates, which has just concluded a normalization agreement with Israel, issued a statement condemning “this heinous assassination.” The United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have warned that they “could fuel further conflict in the region.”
A group of protesters burn photos of US President Donald Trump, above, and President-elect Joe Biden during a rally outside Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday, November 28, 2020, a day after the murder of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a Iranian. scientist linked to the country’s nuclear program by unknown assailants near Tehran. (AP Photo / Vahid Salemi)
Last year, the UAE found itself in the midst of a growing spate of incidents between Iran and the United States. Although it has long been suspicious of Iran’s nuclear program, the UAE has said it wants to defuse the crisis. The UAE has just started passenger air service to Israel and Israelis are expected to vacation in the country over Hanukkah in the coming days.
Hatami also called the US nuclear arsenal – and the stockpile of atomic bombs that Israel has long been suspected of holding – as “the most dangerous threat to humanity”.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Later, mourners buried Fakhrizadeh in the courtyard of Imamzadeh Saleh mosque in northern Tehran.
[ad_2]
Source link