New details about the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassination

The Secretary of the National Security Council in Iran, Ali Shamkhani, announced new details in the assassination of the nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which was rumored in Tehran on Monday, while the British Middle East Eye website revealed that Tehran had threatened a direct military strike against the UAE Following the assassination of Fakhri Zadeh, he was in direct contact with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed.

Shamkhani said that the assassination was carried out from a distance using new and sophisticated devices, accusing the Israeli Mossad and the Mujahideen Khalq Organization of being behind the operation.

On Monday, a state funeral was held in Tehran for Fakhrizadeh, in the presence of a limited number of senior military and political leaders, without public participation due to the health measures associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the ceremony, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said, “Our response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh is coming and is inevitable, and it will be severe punishment for those who committed this crime”.

Iranian Vice President Ishaq Jahangiri described the assassination of Fakhrizadeh as state terrorism, and Jahangiri added – during his participation in the meeting of the prime ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – that the countries of the world must break their silence in the face of this terrorist crime, as he put it.

Meanwhile, the British Middle East Eye website revealed that Iran had threatened to launch a direct military strike on the UAE, in response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh in the event it was exposed to a possible US attack.

The British website – quoting an unnamed Emirati source – said that Tehran had contacted the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, directly, and informed him that it would deal a blow to the UAE in response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.

The Emirati source confirmed – according to the British website – that Tehran will hold the UAE responsible for the assassination of the nuclear scientist, in the event Iran is subjected to a possible US attack.

Regarding the timing of the Iranian call with Mohammed bin Zayed, the source explained that it came shortly before Abu Dhabi condemned the assassination of Fakhrizadeh on Sunday.

The site notes that this information comes in conjunction with Tel Aviv’s warning of attacks that may target Israelis in both the Emirates and Bahrain, which recently opened direct airlines with Tel Aviv.

For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed, on Monday, all its embassies and representatives to raise the level of security alert in anticipation of an Iranian response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, despite its silence about the assassination and responsibility for it.

Qatari al Jazeera correspondent said that Tel Aviv had warned the Israelis not to travel to the UAE and Bahrain, for fear that they would be the target of Iranian retaliation there.

The Washington Post also reported pledges to avenge the killing of Fakhrizadeh, and said that the Iranian leadership confirmed on Monday that it would proceed with its nuclear program, while questioning the future of negotiations with the West.

The newspaper says that the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, and the pressure now on the Iranian leadership to take revenge after an embarrassing security failure; It could undermine President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to return to the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

In the context, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan called for the administration of President Donald Trump not to take any step that could undermine the administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Brennan said – in an interview with the US network, CNN news that Tehran could carry out a retaliatory operation after the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist.

Brennan called on the international community to condemn the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist, noting that this incident targeting Fakhrizadeh is not like the attacks launched by the United States against other organizations such as al Qaeda, but rather an attack on an official in a sovereign state.

Meanwhile, Iranian media continues to publish details of the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, citing official sources. 

And the semi-official Fars news agency published details of the assassination – which took place last Friday – consistent with the account announced by Member of Parliament Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Authority.

The agency said that the operation lasted about 3 minutes, and there was no human element at the scene of the assassination, and automatic weapons were fired that were controlled remotely.

The agency explained that Fakhrizadeh and his wife were inside an armored car, accompanied by 3 escort cars, on the road at Damavand near the capital Tehran on Friday morning.

The agency pointed out that the sound of a few bullets targeting the car caused the motorcade to stop, as Fakhrizadeh exited the car, apparently believing that the sound resulted from a collision with an external obstacle or a problem with the car’s engine.

After he got off the car – according to this version – a barrage of bullets was fired from a remote-controlled automatic machine gun, and he was attached to a small truck parked 150 meters away, hitting him 3 bullets, one of which cut his spinal cord, and moments later the pickup exploded.

Fars agency said that investigations showed that the owner of the aforementioned truck left the country the day after the assassination, without naming the destination to which it was directed.

In the same context, other local media reported that the weapons used in the assassination were Israeli manufacture, and were controlled by satellites.

In turn, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday, that “Iran will respond very painfully to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.

Zadeh accused Israel of assassinating the Iranian nuclear scientist, Fakhrizadeh, asserting that “today there are clues and evidence for that”.

He continued, “All Gulf states condemned the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, except for one country, so they should reconsider their policies”.

In the context of talking about the position of the UAE and Bahrain on the assassination, he said: “We told the countries that revealed their relations with Israel that we will respond immediately to any threat against Iran, and we do not respond based on suspicions, but according to evidence”.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman indicated that the Iranian government “opposes the decision voted by the parliament,” noting that it had previously been declared “unnecessary and unhelpful, and it is not clear whether that path will achieve the desired goals”.

He explained that the parliamentary decision “did not take into account the viewpoint of the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.