The world should thank Israel for killing prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Israeli senior official gloated in an interview with the New York Times.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the senior official who was involved in tracking down the 59-year-old before he was gunned down on route to visit his family, pledged that Israel would continue to act against the Islamic Republic as it saw fit.
The killing on Friday of Iran's top nuclear scientist was the latest in a decade-long pattern of mysterious poisoning, car bombings, shootings and sabotage have that afflicted the Islamic Republic. https://t.co/GxZReDAIds
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) November 29, 2020
Israel has so far declined to comment on the assassination which has been met with outrage and condemnation. Remarks by the anonymous Israeli official to the Times are the closest the occupation state has come to admitting to the killing.
Gloating over what many have denounced as an act of “state terrorism”, the Israeli official said that Iran’s aspirations for nuclear weapons, promoted by Fakhrizadeh, posed such a menace, that the world should thank Israel.
#Iran’s President Vows Revenge over Murdered Scientist https://t.co/VjZ33U44gy via @PalestineChron #MohsenFakhrizadeh pic.twitter.com/OiCit8t8US
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 28, 2020
Not even Israel’s allies are buying that narrative and instead the killing has been met with scorn.
“This was a criminal act & highly reckless,” former CIA Director John Brennan said in a tweet that implied President Donald Trump was somehow involved.
“It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict. Iran leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits.”
#Iran Accuses Israel of Assassinating Top Scientist, #Fakhrizadhe https://t.co/DGnmhzu9kR via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/hhWDOxxxMq
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 27, 2020
On November 27, the Iranian Defense Ministry confirmed the assassination of prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadhe, who died of injuries in hospital after armed assassins fired on his car.