Iran’s prominent nuclear scientist shot dead

Prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh died in hospital on Friday of injuries suffered in an armed attack, Reuters reports quoting Iranian state media.

According to Aljazeera, Iranian state television is reporting that a scientist that Israel has alleged led a military nuclear programme in the early 2000s has been “assassinated”.

“Unfortunately, the medical team did not succeed in reviving him, and a few minutes ago, this manager and scientist achieved the high status of martyrdom after years of effort and struggle,” a statement by Iran’s armed forces carried by state media said.

Israel declined to immediately comment on the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called out in a news conference saying: “Remember that name”, wrote Aljazeera.

It said the semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the country’s Revolutionary Guard, said the attack happened in Absard, a small city just east of the capital, Tehran.

It said witnesses heard the sound of an explosion and then machine gun fire. The attack targeted a car that Fakhrizadeh was in, the agency said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, added Aljazeera.