Iran scientist linked to military nuclear program killed
Posted Nov 27, 2020 09:23:56 AM.
Last Updated Nov 27, 2020 09:26:21 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian scientist that Israel alleged led the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program until its disbanding in the early 2000s was killed in a shootout Friday, state television said.
Israel declined to immediately comment on the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called out in a news conference saying: “Remember that name.” Israel has long been suspected of carrying out a series of targeted killings of Iranian nuclear scientists nearly a decade ago.
State TV Friday cited sources confirming the death. It said it would offer more information shortly.
Fakhrizadeh led Iran’s so-called “Amad,” or “Hope” program. Israel and the West have alleged it was a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon in Iran. Tehran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that “Amad” program ended in the early 2000s. IAEA inspectors now monitor Iranian nuclear sites as part of Iran’s now-unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.
The Associated Press
