Israel has played a “role” in the attack on prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed on Friday near Tehran, the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has said.
Zarif said in a tweet that an “eminent” Iranian scientist had been killed by unnamed “terrorists”.
He also said Tehran had “serious indications” to believe that Tel Aviv had had some role in the incident, but did not provide any specific evidence to substantiate his accusation.
The foreign minister also called on the international community, and particularly the EU, to condemn the fatal attack, while accusing the European Union of what he called “shameful double standards.”
His statement came after Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahavadi was attacked during an armed standoff between his bodyguards and unidentified assailants in the city of Absard, just east of the Iranian capital Tehran.
The scientist and his security staff were reportedly targeted in a suicide bombing and gun attack.
Later, his death was confirmed by the nation’s Defense Ministry. Several other people were reportedly killed in the incident, but the death toll has not been confirmed.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Back in 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the researcher was the head of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons development project dubbed the ‘Amad’ (‘Hope’).
Tehran repeatedly stated that its nuclear program was purely peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring Iran’s nuclear sites also said that the ‘Amad’ program had ended in early 2000s.
The Israeli authorities have not commented on the latest incident.
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