An Iranian nuclear scientist was reportedly killed with a remote-controlled weapon

(CNN) – The Iranian nuclear scientist killed Friday in eastern Tehran was hit by a remote-controlled machine gun operated by another machine, semi-official Fars news agency said Sunday.

While senior Iranian officials blame Israel for the attack, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and other figures in Iran have sworn revenge for the murder of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was the country’s foremost nuclear scientist.

Conflicting reports

Iranian news agencies offered mixed reports on how the attack unfolded.

A report released Sunday by Fars News said Fakhrizadeh was traveling with his wife on Friday in a bulletproof car, along with three vehicles from security personnel, when he heard what sounded like a bullet hitting a vehicle and got out. from the car to determine what had happened.

When he exited the vehicle, a remote-controlled machine gun opened fire from a Nissan vehicle parked about 150 meters from Fakhrizadeh’s car, Fars News said.

Fakhrizadeh was shot at least three times, according to Fars News. His bodyguard was also shot. After the shots were fired, the Nissan exploded, Fars News reported, adding that the attack lasted three minutes.

CNN cannot independently confirm the news agency’s version of events.

The semi-official Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) also reported that Fakhrizadeh’s car was hit by gunshots, followed by an explosion and other gunshots, citing Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami.

Comparison with the Soleimani attack

“According to reports received from members of his security detachment, Mr. Fakhrizadeh’s vehicle was initially shot at, after which a Nissan vehicle loaded with explosives was blown up very close to them as he was shot. to his vehicle have continued “. Hatami said, according to ISNA.

IRIB, the Iranian state television, said the blast occurred first, followed by gunfire from attackers.

Seyed Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Iranian Strategic Council for Foreign Relations, compared the murder to the attack on Qasem Soleimani, the state news agency of the Islamic Republic reported Sunday. Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike earlier this year in Iraq.

“Without a doubt, the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a calculated and decisive response to the criminals who took away the martyr Fakhrizadeh,” Kharrazi said.

Fakhrizadeh was the head of the new technology research center in the elite Revolutionary Guard and a leading figure in Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian leaders blame Israel

Supreme leader Khameini wrote on a Twitter account on Saturday that often reported his official statements: “The oppressive enemies murdered Mr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. This outstanding scientific mind lost his life due to his timeless great scientific work. He lost his life for God and for the supreme leader.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the international community “to put an end to its shameful double standards” and “condemn this act of state terror”. He added that the attack showed “serious indications of a role for Israel”.

Major General Hossein Dehghan, Khamenei’s military adviser, tweeted Saturday that the “Zionists” are trying to create an “all-out war” and vowed to “strike like lightning” the Fakhrizadeh killers.

President Hassan Rouhani, even among the many Iranian leaders who blame Israel, promised retaliation, saying during a cabinet meeting on Saturday: “The idea labs and the enemies of Iran must know that the Iranian nation and the officials in charge of the country is brave and determined to respond to the murder in due time.

The murder, he said, was carried out “by the dirty hands of the oppressors, in concert with the illegitimate Zionist regime”.

What Israel Says

Iran has provided no evidence of Israeli involvement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on CNN on Friday.

Israeli Settlement Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel News Channel 12 that he “had no idea” who killed Fakhrizadeh, but called it “very embarrassing for Iran”.

The US State Department and the International Atomic Energy Agency said in several reports that Fakhrizadeh had a thorough understanding of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities. In 2018, Netanyahu claimed that Fakhrizadeh was the head of Project Amad, which he and others describe as a covert nuclear weapons effort.

“Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh,” the prime minister told reporters at the time.

Protests erupt in Tehran

The assassination threatens to exacerbate tensions in relations between Tehran and Washington, which have deteriorated under US President Donald Trump. In 2018, Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, and Iran began withdrawing its commitments from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action last year. Trump has called for economic sanctions against the country.

The White House is closely monitoring Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, he said. Trump retweeted Israeli journalist Yossi Melman on Friday, who wrote that Fakhrizadeh “was the head of Iran’s secret military program, wanted for many years by Mossad,” Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.

Iranian students and youth gathered in various government buildings in Tehran and on Saturday, during a demonstration in front of the foreign ministry, protesters burned US and Israeli flags and posters showing Trump and President-elect Joe Biden.

The European Union condemned the killing and called for “maximum restraint”, while the British Foreign Office said it “is trying to establish the facts urgently”.

Fakhrizadeh’s funeral and burial will take place on Monday, Fars News reported. Fakhrizadeh’s remains were taken to the shrine of Imam Reza, one of the most important religious centers for Shiites, in Mashhad on Saturday. After a Sunday service in Mashhad, his body was to be taken to Tehran, to the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.

CNN’s Ramin Mostaghim, Angela Dewan, and Samantha Beech contributed to this report.