Iran vows killing of scientist won't stop any US talks

It says its scientific, defence policies won't change because of attack

Mourners at the burial ceremony for Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh at the Imamzadeh Saleh cemetery in northern Teheran yesterday. The veteran physicist, who played a major role in the country's nuclear research and defence activities, w
Mourners at the burial ceremony for Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh at the Imamzadeh Saleh cemetery in northern Teheran yesterday. The veteran physicist, who played a major role in the country's nuclear research and defence activities, was killed in a bombing and shooting ambush outside Teheran last Friday. PHOTO: REUTERS

TEHERAN • Iran has vowed it will not "fall into the trap" of scuppering any future talks with the incoming Biden government in the United States, following the assassination of a top nuclear scientist.

"Iran's scientific and defence policies won't change because of the assassination of one scientist or general," said government spokesman Ali Rabiei on Sunday.

The Islamic Republic "shouldn't fall into the trap of linking the assassination to past nuclear negotiations", he said in a statement posted on the government's official website.

Dr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a veteran physicist who played a major role in Iran's nuclear research and defence activities, was killed in a bombing and shooting ambush outside Teheran last Friday.

Underscoring the support for diplomacy, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that while "Iran and the US will continue to have fundamental differences", the tension between Teheran and Washington need not continue after President Donald Trump is out of office.

"Under Trump's presidency, Iran and US tensions rose to a 40-year peak. It seems unnecessary for this situation to continue," Mr Zarif told the Entekhab news website in an interview on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Dr Fakhrizadeh was buried in a cemetery in northern Teheran yesterday, state TV reported, as the Defence Minister, Brigadier-General Amir Hatami, promised the Islamic Republic would retaliate over his killing.

Dr Fakhrizadeh's body was taken to the Imamzadeh Saleh cemetery after a ceremony at the Defence Ministry.

Iran's English-language Press TV reported yesterday that the weapon used in the killing of Dr Fakhrizadeh was made in Israel, Teheran's long-time enemy.

"The weapons collected from the site of the terrorist act (where Dr Fakhrizadeh was assassinated) bear the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry," an unnamed source told Press TV.

The semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday said the nuclear scientist was killed by a machine gun operated by remote control, while the Arabic-language Al Alam TV reported that the weapons used in the killing were "controlled by satellite". Witnesses last Friday told state TV that there were gunmen on the ground.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen, speaking before the Press TV report, told radio station 103 FM yesterday that he did not know who was responsible for Dr Fakhrizadeh's killing.

On Sunday, the ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper, whose editor is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published an opinion piece calling for the northern Israeli city of Haifa to be attacked in retaliation. "Assuming that the role of the Zionist regime in this great martyrdom can be proved, we can operationalise this threat," the column said.

In Britain, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab on Sunday said the country is "concerned" about the possible escalation of tensions in the Middle East following the assassination of Dr Fakhrizadeh.

"We are concerned about the situation in Iran and the wider region, we do want to see de-escalation of tensions," he told Sky News.

Separately, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani condemned the killing of Dr Fakhrizadeh in a phone call last Saturday with his Iranian counterpart, Mr Zarif, a ministry statement said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also condemned the assassination, describing the attack as a "crime" that could increase tensions across the region.

The UAE denunciation late on Sunday was significant both because of the historically strained relations between Sunni Gulf Arab states and Shi'ite Iran, and the fact that Israel recently signed a normalisation deal with the UAE.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 01, 2020, with the headline Iran vows killing of scientist won't stop any US talks. Subscribe