Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists
2010–2012, 2020 murders of five Iranian nuclear scientists / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Between 2010 and 2020, five Iranian nuclear scientists (Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh) were killed in foreign-linked assassinations. Rezaeinejad was shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles, while Shahriari and Ahmadi Roshan were killed by explosives attached to their cars.[1] Fereydoon Abbasi was also targeted in a car bombing, but survived.[2][3]
The Iranian government accused Israel of complicity in the killings in order to disrupt Iran's nuclear program.[1] In 2011 and 2012, Iranian authorities arrested a number of Iranians alleged to have carried out the assassination campaign on behalf of Mossad (the Israeli intelligence service). Western intelligence services and U.S. officials reportedly confirmed the Israeli connection.[4][5][6] Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya'alon said: "We will act in any way and are not willing to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. We prefer that this be done by means of sanctions, but in the end, Israel should be able to defend itself."[7]
The assassination campaign was reportedly terminated in 2013 following diplomatic pressure from the United States, which was attempting to negotiate restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities.[8][9] According to NBC, two US senior officials confirmed that the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) was "financed, trained, and armed by Israel" in killing Iranian nuclear scientists,[10] although a Senior State Department Official later denied saying the MEK was not involved in the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.[11][12]