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| Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: Iran buries assassinated nuclear scientist | Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: Iran buries assassinated nuclear scientist |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was buried in Tehran following his assassination on Friday | |
| Iran has held a funeral for its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated on Friday in an attack that it has blamed on Israel. | Iran has held a funeral for its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated on Friday in an attack that it has blamed on Israel. |
| In a televised speech at the ceremony, Defence Minister General Amir Hatami vowed to avenge Fakhrizadeh's death and continue his path "vigorously". | |
| A security chief meanwhile said those behind the attack on the scientist had used electronic equipment and not been at the scene, as Iran initially said. | |
| Israel has not commented on the claims. | |
| Fakhrizadeh played a crucial role in Iran's nuclear programme in the early 2000s and more recently had been accused by Israel of continuing to help develop a nuclear weapon. | |
| Iran insists that its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful. | |
| What were the motives behind the killing? | What were the motives behind the killing? |
| Country profile: Iran | Country profile: Iran |
| Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words | Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words |
| The funeral ceremony for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was held at the defence ministry in Tehran, before his remains were transferred to a cemetery in the north of the capital. | The funeral ceremony for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was held at the defence ministry in Tehran, before his remains were transferred to a cemetery in the north of the capital. |
| Iranian state television showed the flag-draped coffin being carried by troops, and senior officials - including Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, Revolutionary Guards commander Gen Hossein Salami and nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi - paying their respects. | Iranian state television showed the flag-draped coffin being carried by troops, and senior officials - including Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, Revolutionary Guards commander Gen Hossein Salami and nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi - paying their respects. |
| General Amir Hatami said Iran would continue the path of the "martyr doctor" | General Amir Hatami said Iran would continue the path of the "martyr doctor" |
| "The enemies know and I, as a soldier, tell them that no crime, no terror and no stupid act will go unanswered by the Iranian people," Gen Hatami said. | "The enemies know and I, as a soldier, tell them that no crime, no terror and no stupid act will go unanswered by the Iranian people," Gen Hatami said. |
| "We will severely pursue the criminals. They must know that they will be punished for their actions." | "We will severely pursue the criminals. They must know that they will be punished for their actions." |
| As head of Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym SPND, Fakhrizadeh had carried out "considerable work" in the area of "atomic defence", the general said. | As head of Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym SPND, Fakhrizadeh had carried out "considerable work" in the area of "atomic defence", the general said. |
| The government would double SPND's budget in order to continue the path of the "martyr doctor" with "more speed and more power", he added. | |
| The road near Tehran where gunmen opened fire on Mohsen Fakhrizadeh | |
| The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, told the ceremony that Iranian intelligence services had been aware of a plot to kill Fakhrizadeh, but that they had failed to stop the attack because innovative methods were used. | The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, told the ceremony that Iranian intelligence services had been aware of a plot to kill Fakhrizadeh, but that they had failed to stop the attack because innovative methods were used. |
| "Necessary improvements were made for his security, but the enemy used completely new, professional and special methods and, unfortunately, they were successful," he said. | "Necessary improvements were made for his security, but the enemy used completely new, professional and special methods and, unfortunately, they were successful," he said. |
| "It was a very complex mission using electronic equipment. There was no-one present at the scene." | "It was a very complex mission using electronic equipment. There was no-one present at the scene." |
| Iran's Fars news agency, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guards, had earlier reported that Fakhrizadeh was killed by a "remote-controlled machine gun". | Iran's Fars news agency, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guards, had earlier reported that Fakhrizadeh was killed by a "remote-controlled machine gun". |
| English-language Press TV meanwhile cited a source as saying the weapon used in the killing bore "the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry". | English-language Press TV meanwhile cited a source as saying the weapon used in the killing bore "the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry". |
| Iran's defence ministry had said on Friday that "armed terrorists" targeted Fakhrizadeh's car in the town of Absard, to the east of Tehran, and that the scientist was fatally wounded during a gunfight between his bodyguards and the assailants. | |
| Pictures on social media showed a road strewn with wreckage and blood, and a bullet-riddled car. | |
| What are regional media saying? | |
| Iranian media are focusing on projecting two main messages - the threat of revenge for the scientist's killing, and a warning that Iran should not "fall into the trap" of what they say are Israel's attempts to escalate tensions over the Iranian nuclear programme. | |
| Israeli media are highlighting the timing of the attack, with analysts interpreting this as a signal to US President-elect Joe Biden that Israel "won't go quietly" if he seeks to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. There is also much speculation about possible Iranian retaliation. | |
| Saudi media are reporting the assassination prominently and with interest. A cartoon in the Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper appears to mock the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' capabilities. Al Arabiya TV's website meanwhile asks: "Will Fakhrizadeh's assassination affect Biden's approach to Iran?" | |
| Israel's Intelligence Minister, Eli Cohen, said on Monday in an interview with a radio station that he did not know who was behind the killing. | Israel's Intelligence Minister, Eli Cohen, said on Monday in an interview with a radio station that he did not know who was behind the killing. |
| However, an unnamed senior Israeli official involved in tracking Iranian nuclear activities was quoted by the New York Times as saying that "Iran's aspirations for nuclear weapons, promoted by Mr Fakhrizadeh, posed such a menace that the world should thank Israel". | However, an unnamed senior Israeli official involved in tracking Iranian nuclear activities was quoted by the New York Times as saying that "Iran's aspirations for nuclear weapons, promoted by Mr Fakhrizadeh, posed such a menace that the world should thank Israel". |
| Israeli and Western security sources say Fakhrizadeh was instrumental in Iran's nuclear programme. | Israeli and Western security sources say Fakhrizadeh was instrumental in Iran's nuclear programme. |
| The physics professor is said to have led "Project Amad", a covert programme that Iran allegedly established in 1989 to carry out research on a potential nuclear bomb. | |
| In 2018, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled what he claimed to be Iran's secret atomic archive | In 2018, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled what he claimed to be Iran's secret atomic archive |
| The project was shut down in 2003, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), though Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said in 2018 that documents obtained by his country showed Fakhrizadeh led a programme that was secretly continuing Project Amad's work. | The project was shut down in 2003, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), though Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said in 2018 that documents obtained by his country showed Fakhrizadeh led a programme that was secretly continuing Project Amad's work. |
| In a presentation, Mr Netanyahu urged people to "remember that name". | In a presentation, Mr Netanyahu urged people to "remember that name". |
| Iran has previously accused Israel of assassinating four other Iranian nuclear scientists between 2010 and 2012. | |
| Analysts have speculated that the latest assassination was not meant to cripple the Iranian nuclear programme, but rather to put an end to prospect of the US rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal when President-elect Joe Biden takes office next year. | |
| President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, saying it was "defective at its core", and reinstated US sanctions in an attempt to force Iran's leaders to negotiate a replacement. | |
| Iran has refused to do so and retaliated by breaching a number of key commitments, including by increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium. Enriched uranium can be used to make fuel for nuclear reactors but also potentially nuclear bombs. |