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Iran's Security Apparatus Under Fire After Top Nuclear Scientist Assassinated
The assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist has prompted criticism of the security apparatus, which is being blamed for failing to prevent the killing. The attack has resulted in calls for authorities to find the foreign agents that seem to have infiltrated the security system.
www.rferl.org
11/30/20
The attack that targeted Iran's top nuclear scientist took place in broad daylight not far from the capital, Tehran. Within a few minutes Mohsen Fakhrizadeh -- who was at the heart of the country's past covert nuclear program -- was dead.Initial reports suggested Fakhrizadeh's motorcade was driving in Absard, some 60 kilometers from Tehran, when it was ambushed by a Nissan truck that exploded. Then several gunmen in an SUV, others on motorbikes, opened fire, killing the scientist and injuring at least one of his bodyguards. But according to the latest version of events reported by the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the assassination was carried out using a remote-controlled machine gun mounted on a Nissan pickup truck and there were no attackers on the ground. Fars said Fakhrizadeh, 59, left his bulletproof vehicle after hearing gunshots. He was then sprayed with bullets from the pickup reportedly parked some 150 meters away. According to the report, he was hit by three bullets, including one that severed his spinal cord. It said that seconds later the Nissan truck exploded. Fakhrizadeh was flown by helicopter to a Tehran hospital but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. His wife, who was with him during the attack, survived.
Regardless of the details -- which are impossible to verify due to Iran's tight media censorship and opaque system -- the brazen attack sent shock waves through the country, highlighting a major security lapse. "They keep telling us how powerful they are and they keep making announcements about arresting spies but they failed to protect the country's most important nuclear scientist, whom they knew was at risk," a Tehran-based observer who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue told RFE/RL. The authorities quickly blamed Israel, which is also believed to have been behind a series of assassinations in the past 13 years of at least four nuclear scientists and the failed murder of a fifth about a decade ago. Yet Fakhrizadeh's assassination was still shocking, raising questions about the possible penetration of foreign intelligence agencies into Iran's security apparatus. The attack followed a series of other incidents blamed on Israel, including a July sabotage act at the underground Natanz uranium-enrichment facility in the central province of Isfahan, and the August assassination of Al-Qaeda's second-highest leader in Tehran, reportedly carried out by Israeli operatives. Hossein Alaei, a former commander of the IRGC naval force, said the sophisticated attack suggested that Israel was conducting its operations inside Iran based on "precise information."
This is highly embarrassing and a severe blow to the Iranian security apparatus (IRGC). Israel's Mossad has clearly infiltrated Iranian top tier security, perhaps now aided by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Brazen Killings Expose Iran’s Vulnerabilities as It Struggles to Respond