Iranian president Ahmadinejad blames Israel for assassination of nuclear scientist

Iranian president Ahmadinejad blames Israel for assassination of nuclear scientist

2010-11-30 08:40:46 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN, IRAN (BNO NEWS) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday said that Israel and 'certain' western countries were responsible for the assassination of a nuclear scientist, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Earlier on Monday, an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed and another was injured when two car bombs exploded in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The attacks took place between 7 and 8 a.m. local time when the cars of Dr. Majid Shahriari and professor Fereydoun Abbasi exploded at separate locations in Tehran, killing Shahriari.

Both Shahriari and Abbasi were professors at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran and are believed to be nuclear scientists. Abbasi and his wife sustained minor injuries.

Ahmadinejad said that despite the murder, progress in Iran will not be stopped. He added that the 'despicable acts' were perpetrated in order to create insecurity in Tehran and warned about Iran's retaliatory measures against the attackers.

"The western governments and the Zionist regime have a hand in the assassination of the two Iranian university professors," Ahmadinejad said, as cited by Fars. Iran usually refers to Israel as the 'Zionist regime.'

The Iranian leader also called for security officials to identify as soon as possible those behind the attacks and bring them to justice."

The Vice-Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Seyed Mohammad Hassan Abu-Torabifard, remarked the 'outstanding works' of the two physics scientists. He added that they contributed to Iran's progress in nuclear physics in recent years.

Abu-Torabifard said that both Israel and the United States have hatched numerous plots to stop Iran's progress through different measures, including sanctions and the assassination of scientists and university professors.

Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Sajedinia said a motorcycle approached Shahriari's car and attached a bomb to the car which exploded a few seconds later, according to Iran's Press TV.

Sajedinia added that something similar happened to Abbasi's car, although the professor and his wife were able to escape and suffered only minor injuries.

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