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| Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran | Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The scene of the attack in Damavand, near Tehran | The scene of the attack in Damavand, near Tehran |
| Iran's most senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been assassinated near the capital Tehran, the country's defence ministry has confirmed. | Iran's most senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been assassinated near the capital Tehran, the country's defence ministry has confirmed. |
| Fakhrizadeh died in hospital after an attack in Absard, in Damavand county. | Fakhrizadeh died in hospital after an attack in Absard, in Damavand county. |
| Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, has condemned the killing "as an act of state terror". | Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, has condemned the killing "as an act of state terror". |
| Western intelligence agencies view Fakhrizadeh as being behind Iran's covert nuclear weapons programme. | |
| "If Iran ever chose to weaponise (enrichment), Fakhrizadeh would be known as the father of the Iranian bomb," one Western diplomat told Reuters news agency in 2014. | |
| News of the killing comes amid fresh concern about the increased amount of enriched uranium that Iran is producing. Enriched uranium is a vital component for both civil nuclear power generation and military nuclear weapons. | News of the killing comes amid fresh concern about the increased amount of enriched uranium that Iran is producing. Enriched uranium is a vital component for both civil nuclear power generation and military nuclear weapons. |
| Iran's enriched uranium stockpile '12 times limit' | Iran's enriched uranium stockpile '12 times limit' |
| After Trump, what will Biden do about Iran? | After Trump, what will Biden do about Iran? |
| Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words | Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words |
| Iran insists its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes. | Iran insists its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes. |
| Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated and Iran has accused Israel of complicity in the killings. | Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated and Iran has accused Israel of complicity in the killings. |
| Fakhrizadeh's name was specifically mentioned in Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's presentation about Iran's nuclear programme in May 2018. | Fakhrizadeh's name was specifically mentioned in Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's presentation about Iran's nuclear programme in May 2018. |
| What happened to Mohsen Fakhrizadeh ? | |
| In a statement on Friday, Iran's defence ministry said: "Armed terrorists targeted a vehicle carrying Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the ministry's research and innovation organisation. | In a statement on Friday, Iran's defence ministry said: "Armed terrorists targeted a vehicle carrying Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the ministry's research and innovation organisation. |
| "After a clash between the terrorists and his bodyguards, Mr Fakhrizadeh was severely injured and rushed to hospital. | "After a clash between the terrorists and his bodyguards, Mr Fakhrizadeh was severely injured and rushed to hospital. |
| "Unfortunately, the medical team's efforts to save him were unsuccessful and minutes ago he passed away." | "Unfortunately, the medical team's efforts to save him were unsuccessful and minutes ago he passed away." |
| Fakrizadeh was wounded in the attack and died later in hospital, Iran said | Fakrizadeh was wounded in the attack and died later in hospital, Iran said |
| Iranian media reports said the attackers opened fire on the scientist in his car. | |
| Fars news agency earlier reported there was a car explosion in Absard town, with witnesses reporting that "three to four individuals, who are said to have been terrorists, were killed". | Fars news agency earlier reported there was a car explosion in Absard town, with witnesses reporting that "three to four individuals, who are said to have been terrorists, were killed". |
| What has the reaction been? | What has the reaction been? |
| "Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today," Iran's foreign minister said in a tweet. | "Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today," Iran's foreign minister said in a tweet. |
| "This cowardice - with serious indications of Israeli role - shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators." | "This cowardice - with serious indications of Israeli role - shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators." |
| Mr Zarif called on the international community to "condemn this act of state terror". | Mr Zarif called on the international community to "condemn this act of state terror". |
| Iran's government congratulated Fakhrizadeh on his "martyrdom". | |
| 🔹محمد جواد ظریف وزیر امور خارجه جمهوری اسلامی ایران با صدرو بیانیه ای اقدام تروریستی و کوردلانه ترور شهید محسن فخری زاده رییس سازمان پژوهش و نوآوری وزارت دفاع جمهوری اسلامی ایران توسط تروریستها را به شدت محکوم کرد.https://t.co/kSvLoCGMTb pic.twitter.com/3zj2ZkAbaB | |
| The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran will revenge the killing of the scientist. | The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran will revenge the killing of the scientist. |
| "Assassination of nuclear scientists is the most obvious violation of the global hegemony to prevent our access to modern sciences," said Major General Hossein Salami. | |
| There has been no comment from Israel on the news of the assassination. The Pentagon has also declined to comment, according to Reuters. | |
| In 2018, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled what he claimed to be Iran's secret atomic archive | |
| Who was Mohsen Fakhrizadeh? | Who was Mohsen Fakhrizadeh? |
| Fakhrizadeh is the most renowned Iranian nuclear scientist and a senior officer of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. | Fakhrizadeh is the most renowned Iranian nuclear scientist and a senior officer of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. |
| He has long been spoken about by Western security sources as extremely powerful and instrumental in Iran's nuclear programme. | |
| According to secret documents obtained by Israel in 2018, he led a programme to create nuclear weapons. | |
| "Remember that name," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he identified Fakhrizedeh as the head scientist in the programme. | "Remember that name," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he identified Fakhrizedeh as the head scientist in the programme. |
| In 2015, the New York Times compared him to J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who directed the Manhattan Project that during World War Two produced the first atomic weapons. | In 2015, the New York Times compared him to J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who directed the Manhattan Project that during World War Two produced the first atomic weapons. |
| Fakhrizadeh was born in 1958 in city of Qom, Iran, according to a 2011 report published by Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). | |
| A professor of physics, he is said to have led Project Amad, the alleged covert programme that was established in 1989 to research the potential for building a nuclear bomb. It was shut down in 2003, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). |