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=== Mojahedin-e-Khalq ===
=== Mojahedin-e-Khalq ===
An [[NBC News]] investigation said the assassinations were carried out by [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|Mojahedin-e-Khalq]] (MEK), an Iranian opposition movement-in-exile that advocates the overthrow of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]. Two senior US government officials were cited as presenting MEK responsible for the killings. While the MEK denies any involvement with Israel, Israeli commentators have confirmed the MEK-Israeli connection.<ref name="Indepedndant">{{cite news|last1=Cockburn|first1=Patrick|title=Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/just-who-has-been-killing-irans-nuclear-scientists-8861232.html|accessdate=11 February 2016|work=Indepedndant}}</ref>
An [[NBC News]] investigation said the assassinations were carried out by [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|Mojahedin-e-Khalq]] (MEK), an Iranian opposition movement-in-exile that advocates the overthrow of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]. Two senior US government officials were cited as MEK responsible for the killings. While the MEK denies any involvement with Israel, Israeli commentators have confirmed the MEK-Israeli connection.<ref name="Indepedndant">{{cite news|last1=Cockburn|first1=Patrick|title=Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/just-who-has-been-killing-irans-nuclear-scientists-8861232.html|accessdate=11 February 2016|work=}}</ref>


===United States ===
===United States ===

Revision as of 17:52, 9 March 2016

Four Iranian nuclear scientists—Masoud Alimohammadi, Majid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan—have been killed since 2010.[1][2] Three of the murders were carried out using magnetic bombs attached to the targets' cars, Darioush Rezaeinejad was shot dead and Masoud Alimohammadi was killed in a motorcycle bomb explosion.[3] In June 2012, the Iranian government claimed that it had arrested all the terrorists behind the assassinations.[4]

The Iranian government has accused Israel of of carrying out the killings;[4] Israel has not publicly commented on the matter.[5] Moshe Ya'alon, the Israeli defence minister, stated, "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."[5] According to Michael Burleigh, Michael Rubin and Mark Hibbs, the assassinations may have been carried out by the dissident Mujahedin-e-Khalq group on behalf of Mossad.[6][7]

According to other analysts, the killings may have been commissioned by Arab intelligence agencies, which may have recruited Shi'ites to carry out the attacks. Other opinions are that the assassinations may have been sanctioned by the Iranian government itself or may have been carried out by the Iranian opposition parties.[8]

Timeline of attacks

Masoud Alimohammadi an assassinated Iranian nuclear scientist.
  • 12 January 2010; Masoud Alimohammadi was killed on his way to work by a booby-trapped motorcycle parked near his car in north Tehran.[2]
  • 29 November 2010; Majid Shahriari was killed in northern Tehran by a magnetic bomb attached to his car by a motorcyclist.[9]
  • 23 July 2011; Rezaeinejad was killed by motorcycle-borne gunmen in July 2011 outside the front gate of the family home.[10]
  • 11 January 2012; Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed by a magnetic bomb attached to his car.[1]
  • 3 January 2015; Iran claimed to have thwarted an attack on an Iranian nuclear scientist.[4]

Alleged perpetrators

Israel

Although Israel has made no public comments on any of the incidents, Tehran has accused Mossad of assassinating Iran’s nuclear scientists to hinder the country's nuclear program.[11][4] Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya'alon stated in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, "Ultimately it is very clear, one way or another, Iran's military nuclear programme must be stopped", and said Israel will use its full capacity to prohibit Iran from producing nuclear weapons.[5] General Yoav Mordechai, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said he had "no idea who targeted the Iranian scientist" and "I certainly don't shed a tear".[7]

According to analysts Michael Burleigh, Michael Rubin and Mark Hibbs, the assassinations may have been carried out by Iranians working on behalf of Mossad. British author and historian Michael Burleigh said the assassinations could be attributed to Israel based on its previous ventures, including Operation Damocles against Nazi scientists, alleged involvement of Israel in the killing of Gerald Bull, and the targeted assassinations of key Hamas and Hezbollah figures, such as Yahya Ayyash and Imad Mughniyah, by Shin Bet.[6][7]

According to Dan Raviv, "an assassination campaign aimed at Iran's top nuclear scientists" intended to "slow the progress made by Iran" was run by Israel for several years, although Israel never acknowledged it.[12]

Mojahedin-e-Khalq

An NBC News investigation said the assassinations were carried out by Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition movement-in-exile that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Two senior US government officials were cited as believing MEK to have been responsible for the killings. While the MEK denies any involvement with Israel, Israeli commentators have confirmed the MEK-Israeli connection.[13]

United States

Besides Israel, Iranian officials blame United States for the killings; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran".[7] According to Trita Parsi, the killings are not carried out by the US and they are not consistent with the manner in which the US intelligence would perform them. Michael Rubin agreed, saying he did not think the US had the necessary "human intelligence knowledge".[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Hasan, Mehdi. "Iran's nuclear scientists are not being assassinated. They are being murdered". The guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b Meikle, James. "Iran: timeline of attacks". The guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  3. ^ Vick, Karl; Klein, Aaron J. "Who Assassinated an Iranian Nuclear Scientist? Israel Isn't Telling". Time. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Staff writers (4 January 2015). "Iran 'thwarts Mossad attempt to assassinate nuclear scientist'". Russia Today. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Sridharan, Vasudevan. "Israel hints at resuming assassinations of Iran nuclear scientists". International Business Times. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Burleigh, Michael (12 January 2012). "An informal addition to the laws of physics – don't work for Iran". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e Levs, Josh. "Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists?". CNN. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists? - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  9. ^ Borger, Julia; Kamali Dehghan, Saeed. "Covert war against Iran's nuclear aims takes chilling turn". The guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  10. ^ Koring, Paul (18 Jun 2012). "The undeclared war on Iran's nuclear program". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  11. ^ Staff writers (1 April 2015). "Iran accuses Israel of killing nuclear scientists". i24news. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  12. ^ Raviv, Dan. "U.S. pushing Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists". CBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  13. ^ Cockburn, Patrick. "Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?". Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
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