60km from Tehran, at around 2pm on Friday, 27th November, a black sedan car was hit by an unknown object. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh climbed out of his bullet-proof car to inspect the damage, and it was at this moment a remote-controlled machine gun mounted on a blue pickup truck began firing at Fakhrizadeh (Fakrisadeh) and his convoy. The car then exploded, and Iran’s top nuclear scientist was dead.
This is how the Iranian media reported the assassination of one of the country’s most shadowy and unknown figures. Few images exist of Fakhrizadeh in the state media, and he has given even fewer public speeches. However, this is not to underestimate the nuclear scientist’s importance; Western intelligence services view him as one of the most dangerous men involved in Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon. But this latest bloodshed is much bigger than one man.
The attack is just one of a string of strikes on Iranian officials in recent years which have infuriated the Islamic Republic. 11 months ago the second most powerful man in Iran and the head of the elite Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a US airstrike.
Although it is currently unknown who is behind the latest assassination, Iran has blamed Isreal for the sophisticated attack. In response to the remote killing, Tehran has vowed to ramp up their nuclear enrichment programme and said they will avenge what they call an act of “state terror”.
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