Iranian scientist killed, adding a challenge for Biden
鈥淚sraeli role鈥� alleged in killing, in last days of Trump presidency, of a scientist long suspected of leading an Iranian nuclear bomb program.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, right, sits in a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (not pictured) in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 23, 2019. Mr. Fakhrizadeh was killed Friday Nov. 27, 2020, state television said.
Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
An Iranian scientist long suspected by the West of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb program was killed in an ambush near Tehran Friday that could provoke confrontation between Iran and its foes in the last weeks of Donald Trump鈥檚 presidency.
The death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who Iranian state media said died in hospital after armed assassins gunned him down in his car, will also complicate any effort by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to revive the detente of Barack Obama鈥檚 presidency.
Iran pointed the finger at Israel, with the implication that the killing would have the blessing of the departing Mr. Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted of 鈥渟erious indications of Israeli role鈥� and called on Western countries to 鈥渆nd their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror.鈥�
The military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to 鈥渟trike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr.鈥�
鈥淚n the last days of the political life of their ... ally [Mr. Trump], the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war,鈥� Hossein Dehghan tweeted.
There was silence from foreign capitals. Israel declined to comment. In the United States, the White House, Pentagon, State Department, and CIA all declined to comment. Mr. Biden鈥檚 transition team also declined to comment.
Mr. Fakhrizadeh has been described by Western and Israeli intelligence services for years as the leader of a covert atomic bomb program halted in 2003, which Israel and the United States accuse Tehran of trying to restore in secret. Iran has long denied seeking to weaponize nuclear energy.
The semi-official news agency Tasnim said 鈥渢errorists blew up another car鈥� before firing on a vehicle carrying Mr. Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards in an ambush outside the capital.
The nuclear deal
Regardless of who was responsible for the attack, it is certain to escalate tension between Iran and the United States in the final weeks of Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidency.
President Trump, who lost his reelection bid to Mr. Biden Nov. 3 and leaves office Jan. 20, pulled the United States from a deal reached under Mr. Obama, his predecessor, by which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
President-elect Biden has said he will aim to restore that agreement, although many analysts say this would not happen overnight, with both sides likely to demand more reassurances.
A U.S. official confirmed this month that Mr. Trump had asked military aides for a plan for a possible strike on Iran. The president decided against it at the time because of the risk it could provoke a wider Middle East conflict.
Last January, Mr. Trump ordered a drone strike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran鈥檚 most powerful military commander. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq, the closest the two foes have come to war in decades.
Mr. Fakhrizadeh is thought to have headed what the U.N. nuclear watchdog and U.S. intelligence services believe was a coordinated nuclear weapons program in Iran, shelved in 2003.
He was the only Iranian scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency鈥檚 2015 鈥渇inal assessment鈥� of open questions about Iran鈥榮 nuclear program. The IAEA鈥檚 report said he oversaw activities 鈥渋n support of a possible military dimension to (Iran鈥榮) nuclear program.鈥�
鈥楻emember that name鈥�
The scientist was a central figure in a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 accusing Iran of continuing to seek nuclear weapons.
鈥淩emember that name, Fakhrizadeh,鈥� Mr. Netanyahu said at the time.
During the final months of Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidency, Israel has been making peace with Gulf Arab states that share its hostility toward Iran.
This week, the Israeli leader traveled to Saudi Arabia and met its crown prince, an Israeli official said, in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit by an Israeli leader. Israeli media said they were joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
On Friday, before the news of the attack on the Iranian scientist emerged, an Israeli official said Israel was discussing with Gulf Arab states how to tackle Iran.
鈥淭he story is not Trump, nor even Israel. The story is Iran聽鈥� the growing dread that a new U.S. administration will go back to the nuclear deal which threatens the very existence of the Gulf countries,鈥� Tzachi Hanegbi, who sits in Mr. Netanyahu鈥檚 security cabinet, told Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM.
鈥淲e will know how to handle the issue of the Iranian threat, even if through our own means.鈥�