How Iranian Nuclear Scientist Was Murdered

Assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist 'involved 62 operatives

Remarkable detail of the plot to kill an Iranian nuclear scientist emerged on Saturday, a day after the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh reverberated around the world.

Sixty two people were involved in the scheme, according to Mohamad Ahwaze, an Iranian journalist who exposed the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic in his country.

Ahwaze said he had obtained leaked Iranian information.

Iranian officials have blamed Israel’s Mossad for the assassination. One American official and two other intelligence officials also told the New York Times that Israel was behind the attack.

Ahwaze said that 12 members of the team, who he described as being highly trained and assisted by ‘security and intelligence services abroad’, were deployed to the city of Absard, 50 miles east of Tehran.

The mountain retreat of 10,000 people is where many Tehranis have second homes, and Fakhrizadeh, 59, had a villa there. The Wreath Depot Easto... Buy New $79.99 (as of 04:48 UTC - Details)

Another 50 people, Ahwaze said, helped with logistical support. He did not specify whether they were in Iran, or abroad.

The team had been watching Fakhrizadeh, and knew that he was going to be driving from Tehran to Absard on Friday.

They planned the attack for a roundabout in Absard, at the foot of a tree-lined boulevard which enters the city.

A Hyundai Santa Fe with four passengers, four motorcyles and two snipers were waiting for him at the scene of the ambush, along with a booby-trapped Nissan pickup.

Half an hour before Fakhrizadeh’s convoy of three bulletproof cars arrived, the electricity was cut off to the area, Ahwaze reported.

The team were in place when the first car passed the roundabout.

As the third car passes, the Nissan explodes, damaging electricity poles and transmitters, according to a state TV report from the area on Friday night.

The force of the explosion from the bomb hurled debris at least 300 meters, according to state television.

The second car, containing Fakhrizadeh, was then shot at by the 12 assassins, including two snipers.

The gunmen with the hit squad opened fire on the cars, and an intense gunfight ensued, according to Sepah Cybery, a social media channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Read the Whole Article