Defense Politics

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s top nuclear scientist has assassinated

Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in an attack, 90 kilometers east of Tehran on Friday 27th November. First, the truck bomb blast happened to stop him on the way, and then the armed gunmen started firing on his car. In the attack, he was severely wounded, and later he died in a  hospital. According to Iran’s state media.

Who was Mohsen Fakhrizadeh:

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was a senior official in Iran’s nuclear program and a Brigadier General in Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He was also a  leader of AMAD-Project and the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research in Iran.

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The UN Security Council wrote about him in 2007 in a resolution. In UNSC resolution, he was mentioned in the list of “Persons involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities” as a senior scientist in the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and the former head of the Physics Research Center (PHRC). In 2014 the New York Times compared him to Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the American nuclear bomb. 

Once the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him the father of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Western experts believed that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh played a key role in Iran’s nuclear program.

A western diplomat once told Reuters news in 2014, “If Iran ever chose to weaponize, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh would be known as the father of the Iranian bomb”.

Possible reasons behind assasination:

Mohsin Fakhrizadeh is the most prominent name in Iran’s nuclear weapons program and he is mentioned many times by top Israeli government officials. He was considered to be the head of Iran’s nuclear program. 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif blamed Israel for this assassination. He said in a tweet, 

“Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardice with a serious indication of Israeli role shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators”.

Iranian President Hasan Rohani also blamed Israel for the topmost nuclear scientist death.

“Once again the evil hands of Global Arrogance and the Zionist mercenaries were stained with the blood of an Iranian son”. 

He said this in a televised cabinet meeting.

The motive of the assassination looked political rather than Iran’s nuclear program. At the time when this assassination happened, the situation in the US is also complex and this will may trigger Iranians to take retaliatory action. 

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Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s second in command Naim Qasim said that agents of the US and Israel were behind the assassination. 

Micheal P. Mulroy, the Pentagon’s former top Middle East policy official said that the death of Mr. Fakhrizadeh was a setback to Iran’s nuclear program. He further said, Fakherizadeh was their senior-most nuclear scientist and was believed to be responsible for Iran’s covert nuclear program.

Analysis:

The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has complicated the situation in the Middle East for newly elected President Joe Biden. Because Joe Biden has signaled to return to Iran’s nuclear agreement once again that Trump leaves a few years back. 

Trump administration will leave the white house shortly. There are many in the US and Israel who want the maximum pressure policy on Iran because they think it is the only way to stop Tehran from getting the nuclear bomb. 

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The death of Fakherizadeh makes diplomacy harder for both Iran and the new white house administration because it will force Iran to take some strict action against their enemies and leave the peacemaking moves. It is the 2nd most prominent personality of Iran, assassinated this year. First was the Qasem Soleimani, who was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

After analyzing the current situation, we can say that the environment is very uncertain in the Middle East and it is very difficult for newly elected President Joe Biden to take the situation under control quickly.

Sources:

  1. Article published in Wikipedia
  2. Article published in BBCNews
  3. Article published in Aljazeera
  4. Article published in TRTWorld