Monday, September 26, 2022

Iran indicts 14 over elimination of top nuclear scientist

 

Iran on Sunday filed indictments against 14 individuals for involvement in the 2020 elimination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, PressTV reported.

Tehran’s chief prosecutor, Ali Salehi, said the charges brought against the individuals include “corruption on earth,” “participation in intelligence and espionage cooperation for the benefit of the Zionist regime,” “collusion with the aim of disrupting the security of the country,” and “acting against the country’s national security.”

Iran has accused Israel of directing Fakhrizadeh’s death, calling his elimination an act of "state terrorism".

Initial reports claimed Fakhrizadeh was gunned down by a remote-controlled machine gun. Last September, The New York Times reported that the scientist was killed by a robot.

According to the report, the gun was planted in a pickup truck by Iranian agents, and operated by a Mossad sniper working on a computer located outside Iran.

The newspaper also said that the gun was a beta test of a weapon "kitted out with artificial intelligence and multiple-camera eyes, operated via satellite and capable of firing 600 rounds a minute."

Senior Iranian military officials have vowed to avenge the killing of the top nuclear scientist.