Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was mortally wounded and later killed by a mysterious remote-controlled weapon on Monday. His car is said to have been sprayed with bullets in Absard, to the east of Tehran. During the attack, a bomb in a Nissan pickup truck is also reported to have exploded.
Pictures on social media show a road strewn with wreckage and blood and a bullet-riddled vehicle. First, the defence ministry reported a gunfight between Fakhrizadeh’s bodyguards and several gunmen. One Iranian report quoted witnesses as saying “three to four individuals, who are said to have been terrorists, were killed”.
Remains of cars of assassinated scientists allegedly associated with Iran's nuclear program at Tehran's Martyrs Museum. pic.twitter.com/j71fjSg7qe
— Jim Lobe (@LobeLog) November 27, 2020
Iranian media was further reported saying that the scientist had in fact been killed by a “remote-controlled machine gun” or weapons “controlled by satellite”.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the country’s supreme national security council, made the comments at the funeral for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. “The operation was very complex and took place using electronic devices, and no one was present at the scene,” he told Iranian media. He blamed Israel, which has not commented on the killing, and said an Iranian opposition group in exile, called Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, had also played a role. He did not provide evidence to back up the claims.