Iran’s English-language *Press TV* said on Monday that the weapon used inthe killing of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist last week was made inIsrael.
“The weapon collected from the site of the terrorist act (where MohsenFakhrizadeh was assassinated) bears the logo and specifications of theIsraeli military industry,” an unnamed source told *Press TV*.
Speaking before the *Press TV* report, Israeli intelligence minister EliCohen told radio station *103 FM* on Monday that he did not know who wasresponsible.
Separately, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the country’s Supreme NationalSecurity Council, told state TV that Iran’s enemies had launched “a numberof failed operations” against Fakhrizadeh in the past.
“This time, the enemy applied a completely new, professional andsophisticated method,” Shamkhani said, without elaborating.
Fakhrizadeh, who had little public profile in Iran but had been named byIsrael as a prime player in what it says is Iran’s nuclear weapons quest,was killed on Friday when he was ambushed on a highway near Tehran and hiscar sprayed with bullets.
Iran began Fakhrizadeh’s burial in a cemetery in northern Tehran on Monday,state TV reported, as the defence minister promised that the IslamicRepublic would retaliate for his killing.
Iran’s clerical and military rulers have blamed Iran’s longtime enemy,Israel, for Fakhrizadeh’s killing, raising the threat of a newconfrontation with the West and Israel in the remaining weeks of DonaldTrump’s presidency.
However, Iran’s rulers are aware of daunting military and politicaldifficulties in attacking Israel. Such an attack would also complicate anyeffort by United States President-elect Joe Biden to revive detente withTehran after he takes office on January 20.
Tensions have increased between Tehran and Washington since 2018, whenTrump exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposedsanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
In retaliation, Tehran gradually breached the deal’s curbs on its nuclearprogramme. Biden has said he will return the US to the deal if Iran resumescompliance.
Tehran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons.