The Mystery of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s Death

Over the past few days, more details of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s death have come to light. Fars reports that the top Iranian nuclear scientist was killed on Friday, November 27 from afar. A remote-controlled machine gun fired at Fakhrizadeh’s bulletproof car on his way to a vacation home. Fakhrizadeh’s car stopped and Fakhrizadeh got out of the car, wondering if he had hit something on the road. 

According to the Fars report, a truck drew close to Fakhrizadeh, shooting him repeatedly with its remote-controlled machine gun. Then the truck and machine gun self-destructed. Fakhrizadeh was quickly taken to a hospital in Tehran, where the doctors eventually pronounced him dead. 

Iran has been quick to issue a warning that it will strike back to punish the assassins. Iranian official Ali Shmkahani blamed Israel and a banned opposition group named the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran for the killing. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, posited that Israel acted as a “mercenary” for the United States by assassinating Fakhrizadeh.

Potkin Azarmehr, a London journalist, thinks that the Iranian government may have killed Fakhrizadeh to create strong opposition within Iran against reentering the JCPOA nuclear deal with the United States. He claims that blaming Israel for the attack allows Iran to back away from reentering the deal and gives them a reason to redouble their efforts to get their hands on more uranium. A greater understanding of the events surrounding Fakhrizadeh’s death should emerge with time.