Iranian scientist's death 'probably the work of western security agencies'

Mourners at the funeral of Iranian scientist Darioush Rezaeinejad, who was shot dead in Tehran - the third scientist believed linked to Iran's nuclear programme to have been assassinated since 2009. Photograph: AP

Western security agencies were most probably behind the killing of an Iranian scientist analysts say.

Darioush Rezaeinejad, 35, was shot dead by gunmen in eastern Tehran on Saturday, the third murder of a scientist since 2009.

The Iranian government's past responses to such incidents have appeared confused, but from the outset authorities have adopted a strikingly different tone in the Rezaeinejad case.

"Assassinations will continue to be a tool used in this covert war. While it's impossible to tell with certainty whether Rezaeinejad was an active nuclear scientist, his death appears to be another episode in that war," said London-based analyst Ghanem Nuseibeh, the founder of Cornerstone Global Associates.

"The Iranian narrative has been confused about Rezaeinejad's work and this adds credence to the speculation that he has been involved in the nuclear programme."

When news of the shooting first emerged, the semi-official Mehr news agency published information on Rezaeinejad's background which indicated involvement in Iranian nuclear activities.

The report was then immediately withdrawn and Iran's intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, and other officials denied Rezaeinejad had any links to the nuclear energy programme.

Then when Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, blamed the United States and Israel in a televised speech on Sunday, Moslehi said it was too early to tell.

Analysts believe that Iran might wish to play down the accusations of blame as the incident is embarrasing for its security agencies.

"I suspect, just based on what's known in the Iranian media reporting, that Rezaeinejad was assassinated because of his relationship to Iran's nuclear programme," said Afshon Ostovar, an Iran analyst based in Washington DC.

Ostovar said he detected "a PR campaign to both downplay the impact of his death on Iran's nuclear programme and to discredit any sense of legitimacy of the assassination".

Several analysts said they believed the killing to have been carried out by US or Israeli agents.

Both countries fear Iran's uranium enrichment programme is designed to take Tehran to the point where it can quickly assemble nuclear weapons if it wanted to. Tehran insists the programme is for peaceful purposes.

A US spokeswoman denied any US involvement.

Western analysts see signs that Iran is pushing ahead with plans to develop the means to produce nuclear warheads. Last month Tehran said it would shift production of higher grade uranium to an underground bunker and triple output capacity. It also test-fired 14 missiles in one day, including some it said could reach Israel and US bases in the region.

• Shahram Amiri said he was kidnapped in June 2009 while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and transferred to the United States. He said he was offered $50m to remain in America and "to spread lies" about Iran's nuclear work. Before his disappearance, Amiri worked at Iran's Malek Ashtar University, an institution with close links to the country's Revolutionary Guard. He returned to Tehran in July 2010. Washington denied kidnapping Amiri and insisted he had lived freely in the United States.

• Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was killed by a remote-controlled bomb in Tehran in January 2010. Iranian officials have described him as a nuclear scientist, but a spokesman said he did not work for the Atomic Energy Organisation. Western sources said the physics professor worked closely with two scientists both of whom are subject to UN sanctions because of their work on suspected nuclear weapons development. A list of Ali-Mohammadi's publications on Tehran University's website suggested his specialism was theoretical particle physics, not nuclear energy, a western physics professor said.

• Two car bomb attacks in November 2010 killed one Iranian nuclear scientist and wounded another. Majid Shahriyari, who was killed, had a role in one of Iran's biggest nuclear projects, according to the head of Iran's nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi. In the other bombing Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and his wife were both wounded. Moleshi said: "This terrorist act was carried out by intelligence services such as the CIA, Mossad and the MI6. A group that wanted to carry out a terrorist act but did not succeed was also arrested. They confessed that they were trained by these intelligence services."

View the original article here