Killing of suspected Iranian nuclear mastermind risks confrontation as Trump exits

By Parisa Hafezi

 

A view shows the site of the attack that killed Prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, outside Tehran, Iran, November 27, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian scientist long suspected by the West of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb programme was killed in an ambush near Tehran on Friday that could provoke confrontation between Iran and its foes in the last weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.

 

The death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who Iranian media said died in hospital after armed assassins gunned him down in his car, will also complicate any effort by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to revive the detente of Barack Obama's presidency.

 

Iran pointed the finger at Israel, while implying the killing had the blessing of the departing Trump. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter of "serious indications of (an) Israeli role".

 

The military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to "strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr". "In the last days of the political life of their ... ally (Trump), the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war," Hossein Dehghan tweeted.

 

Channels of the Telegram encrypted messaging app believed to be close to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards reported that the top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, had convened an emergency meeting with senior military commanders present.

 

There was silence from foreign capitals. Israel declined to comment. The White House, Pentagon, U.S. State Department and CIA also declined to comment, as did Biden's transition team.

 

Fakhrizadeh has been described by Western and Israeli intelligence services for years as the mysterious leader of a covert atomic bomb programme halted in 2003, which Israel and the United States accuse Tehran of trying to restore. Iran has long denied seeking to weaponise nuclear energy.

 

"Unfortunately, the medical team did not succeed in reviving (Fakhrizadeh), and a few minutes ago, this manager and scientist achieved the high status of martyrdom after years of effort and struggle," Iran's armed forces said in a statement.

 

The semi-official news agency Tasnim said "terrorists blew up another car" before firing on a vehicle carrying Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards in an ambush outside the capital.

 

In the aftermath, there was a heavy presence of security forces stopping cars in Tehran in an apparent search for the killers, witnesses said.

 

Trump, who lost his re-election bid to Biden on Nov. 3 and leaves office on Jan. 20, pulled the United States from a deal reached under Obama, his predecessor, that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

 

Biden has said he will aim to restore that agreement, although many analysts say this will be a challenging goal.

 

Robert Malley, who served as Iran adviser to Obama and has informally advised Biden's team, said Fakhrizadeh's killing was among a series of moves that have occurred during Trump's final weeks that appear aimed at making it harder for Biden to re-engage with Iran.

 

"One purpose is simply to inflict as much damage to Iran economically and to its nuclear program while they can, and the other could be to complicate President Biden's ability to resume diplomacy and resume the nuclear deal," said Malley, adding that he would not speculate on who was behind Friday's killing.

 

A U.S. official confirmed this month that Trump asked military aides for a plan for a possible strike on Iran. Trump decided against it to avoid a wider Middle East conflict.

 

Last January, Trump ordered a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq, the closest the two foes have come to war in decades.

 

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate's Middle East subcommittee, said on Twitter that "this assassination does not make America, Israel or the world safer."

 

'REMEMBER THAT NAME'

 

Fakhrizadeh had no public profile, but was thought to have headed what the U.N. nuclear watchdog and U.S. intelligence services believe was a coordinated nuclear weapons programme in Iran, shelved in 2003.

 

He was the only Iranian scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency's 2015 "final assessment" of open questions about Iran's nuclear programme. The IAEA's report said he oversaw activities "in support of a possible military dimension to (Iran's) nuclear programme".

 

He was a central figure in a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 accusing Iran of continuing to seek nuclear weapons.

 

"Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh," Netanyahu said at the time, displaying a rare photo of him on a slide.

 

Michael Mulroy, a senior Pentagon official earlier during Trump's administration, said Fakhrizadeh's killing would set back Iran's nuclear programme and that alert levels should be raised immediately in countries where Iran could retaliate.

 

Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, blamed the "heinous attack" on "those sponsored by America and Israel" and said the response was in Iran's hands.

 

During the final months of Trump's presidency, Israel has been making peace with Gulf Arab states that share its hostility towards Iran.

 

Earlier this week, Netanyahu travelled to Saudi Arabia and met its crown prince, an Israeli official said, in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit by an Israeli leader. Israeli media said they were joined by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

 

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Dubai newsroom, Francois Murphy in Vienna, Dan Williams in Jerusalem, and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Alexandra Alper, Phil Stewart, David Brunnstrom and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Writing by Mark Heinrich and Peter Graff; Editing by Howard Goller and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-28

 

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Quote

 

"Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh," Netanyahu said at the time, displaying a rare photo of him on a slide.

 

 

Xmas came early for some of us it seems.

 

 

 

If the Mossad want to get you, they will, no matter how long it will take, that guy has the bullseye painted on him for long time now, and now his time has come...

Iran will always be a rogue state,I think they’ll prefer conning/dealing with Biden more than Trump. 

"...this manager and scientist achieved the high status of martyrdom after years of effort and struggle,"

 

Glad we could help!    

9 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

"...this manager and scientist achieved the high status of martyrdom after years of effort and struggle,"

 

Glad we could help!    

Now if Iran assassinated someone somone very high up in the US government, that would be terrorism, right?

23 minutes ago, twocatsmac said:

Iran will always be a rogue state,I think they’ll prefer conning/dealing with Biden more than Trump. 

Perhaps we should determine who assassinated this man in Iran before we declare which is the ‘rogue state’.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Perhaps we should determine who assassinated this man in Iran before we declare which is the ‘rogue state’.

 

 

 

Why?

There exists more than one rogue state. 

1 hour ago, twocatsmac said:

Iran will always be a rogue state,I think they’ll prefer conning/dealing with Biden more than Trump. 

Doubt it. Those democrats are warmongerers.

Edited November 28, 20205 yr by daveAustin

1 minute ago, daveAustin said:

Doubt it. Those democrats are warmongerers.

Right. Because they didn't sign an agreement limiting their nuclear stockpile that was brokered by the Obama administration. Oh, and George W. Bush didn't invade Iraq. Can you fill us in on any more of the alternative Mideast reality that you subscribe to?

Suspected...mastermind...summarily executed.

Well can’t say I will mourn the guy the mossad always gets their man but to be perfectly honest I’m much more concerned about N Korea than Iran I hope we start making amends towards each other this endless cycle of violence only benefits the weapons industry generally it’s the regular folk that pay the price enough!

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

If the Mossad want to get you, they will, no matter how long it will take, that guy has the bullseye painted on him for long time now, and now his time has come...

In that case mossad should be labelled a terrorist organisation.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

vowed to "strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr"

Thunder? Really?

Iran and it's poetic metaphors again fail to instill fear. Next time use "lightning".

2 hours ago, placeholder said:

Now if Iran assassinated someone somone very high up in the US government, that would be terrorism, right?

Look who liked your post.. all those that still think that Iran is a good country with a good intentions and not enriching uranium  in disregard to their signatory to an agreement not to...

Just now, ezzra said:

Look who liked your post.. all those that still think that Iran is a good country with a good intentions and not enriching uranium  in disregard to their signatory to an agreement not to...

Look who's distracting from the issue of terrorism. That would be you.

As for not abiding by the terms of the agreement. How disingenuous can you be? Not only did the Trump administration withdraw from the agreement but it claims to still have rights to enforce the agreement as a signatory to it! Above and beyond the fact that it's making it impossible for Iran to do business with the rest of the world.

Just now, ezzra said:

Look who liked your post.. all those that still think that Iran is a good country with a good intentions and not enriching uranium  in disregard to their signatory to an agreement not to...

That agreement was cancelled by the US, and other signatories were threatened with sanctions if they tried to adhere to it. You mean that agreement?

 

I don;t think anyone thinks Iran is a good country BTW.

More Netanyahu mischief with Trump cheerleading. Remember it's less than 2 weeks ago that Trump wondered if he could bomb Iran.

"Trump Sought Options for Attacking Iran to Stop Its Growing Nuclear Program
The president was dissuaded from moving ahead with a strike by advisers who warned that it could escalate into a broader conflict in his last weeks in office."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/us/politics/trump-iran-nuclear.html

 

He only chickened out when his advisers told him he may start a war and US forces in the Middle East would be a target, to add to Trump's atrocious legacy.

 

But Israel still has 2 months with Trump turning a blind eye to cause more trouble for Biden, who has said he wants to renegotiate the nuclear deal that Trump reneged on. If Iran retaliates against Israel it will make negotiations to halt Iran's nuclear program more difficult. This could be Israel's opening shot to sabotage any Biden deals.

 

With friends like Israel, who needs enemies?

Edited November 28, 20205 yr by dexterm

2 hours ago, placeholder said:

Now if Iran assassinated someone somone very high up in the US government, that would be terrorism, right?

Of course, because the West and its allies are the self-righteous white God fearing Judeo-Christians while Iran is full of those other folk.

32 minutes ago, Sujo said:

In that case mossad should be labelled a terrorist organisation.

Indeed, label them how ever one like as long as they dispense with Israel's enemies any which way, and by the way, almost every country in the world has their own "special department" to deal with situations like this but you get get to hear about them only about Israel...

All part of the greater Israel project.

“We’re Going to Take out 7 Countries in 5 Years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & Iran..” -General Wesley Clark

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-west-bank-annex-territory-trump-explained-a9592731.html
 

Makes some people nervous that nuclear technology can be designed home made with their own scientists.

 

It’s now the 4th Iranian nuclear scientist that was car bombed or ambushed by foreign powers.

 

At this day, there’s no evidence that those Iranian scientists worked on secret Iranian nuclear weapons programs.

Iranian nuclear facilities and personnel are monitored resulting in only manufacturing civil nuclear plants.

No mercy for animals who use their nature given talents for creating weapons. 

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Look who liked your post.. all those that still think that Iran is a good country with a good intentions and not enriching uranium  in disregard to their signatory to an agreement not to...

 

Who liked your post? The Israelis who reside here?

35 minutes ago, Jack Mountain said:

No mercy for animals who use their nature given talents for creating weapons. 

Does that apply to all nations including China?

40 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

What a silly post. Does that include ''western'' animals?

"western animals" are responsible animals, unlike Iran that want to conquer the world by sending troupes and occupying Lebanon, Iraq and parts of Turkey among others...

35 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

Who liked your post? The Israelis who reside here?

Anyone who knows what Iran is aiming at and that nothing will stop them from achieving that, Iran is a major evil axis with accountability to no one and thus should be dealt with as such... name one thing Iran did to benefit the world or any part of it other than to sow fear and intimidation?...

good news that some one has had the balls to take this dangerous guy out, but they should still use the bunker buster bombs to level the facility. BIden is an idiot if he thinks that he can 're engage' with those Iranian lunatics. Appeasement never works, I thought that the World had all learnt that in 1939, apparently subsequent generations have not learnt a thing. 

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

That agreement was cancelled by the US, and other signatories were threatened with sanctions if they tried to adhere to it. You mean that agreement?

 

I don;t think anyone thinks Iran is a good country BTW.

The agreement was cancelled by Trump because the Iranians had already broken the deal,  get the timing right. 

5 hours ago, twocatsmac said:

Iran will always be a rogue state,I think they’ll prefer conning/dealing with Biden more than Trump. 

unfortunately you are right, because he will cave in to them. It will end in tears, ours.