Yngvadottir (talk | contribs) Changed 3 to 2 because the motorcycle bomb is being distinguished |
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==Alleged perpetrators== |
==Alleged perpetrators== |
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⚫ | Some believe that the assassinations may have been sanctioned by the Iranian government itself.<ref name="CNN"/> According to Mahboobeh Hosseinpour, her brother [[Ardeshir Hosseinpour]] was killed by [[Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Iran's Revolutionary Guard]], when he refused to corporate in a program that was aimed at creating [[Iran and weapons of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]]. According to the Iranian scholar and journalist [[Alireza Nourizadeh]], Ardeshir Hosseinpour emailed him about his secret project and this may have been the cause of his assassination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.radiofarda.com/Article/2007/01/21/f4_scientist_nuk_dies.html |title=مرگ مشکوک يک دانشمند هسته ای جمهوری اسلام (Scientist Nuk Dies) |publisher=[[Radio Farda]] |language=Persian |accessdate=2007-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.618876|title=Sister of Murdered Iranian Nuclear Scientist Blames Revolutionary Guards - Not Israel|last=Haaretz|date=2014-10-02|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/israel-didnt-assassinate-iranian-physicist-in-2007-revolutionary-guard-did-sister-says|title=Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says|website=National Post|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/israel-didnt-assassinate-iranian-physicist-in-2007-revolutionary-guard-did-sister-says|title=Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says|website=National Post|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-accused-of-assassinating-its-own-nuclear-scientist/|title=Iran accused of assassinating its own nuclear scientist|website=The Times of Israel|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-nuclear-physicist-killed-by-Revolutionary-Guard-not-Israel-relative-claims-376656|title=Iranian nuclear physicist killed by Revolutionary Guard, not Israel, relative claims|website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenewiran.com/article_detail.asp?aid=437|title=The New Iran|website=TheNewIran.com|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930073938/http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=40909|title=The Media Line|date=2014-09-30|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> |
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=== Israel === |
=== Israel === |
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===United States === |
===United States === |
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Iranian officials blame the United States, in addition to Israel, for the killings; in response, 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".<ref name="CNN"/> According to [[Trita Parsi]], the killings were not carried out by the US and they were not consistent with the manner in which US intelligence agencies would perform them. [[Michael Rubin]] agreed, saying that he did not think the US had the necessary "human intelligence knowledge".<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|last1=Levs|first1=Josh|title=Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists?|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/11/world/meast/iran-who-kills-scientists/|date=11 January 2012|accessdate=12 February 2016|work=CNN}}</ref> |
Iranian officials blame the United States, in addition to Israel, for the killings; in response, 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".<ref name="CNN"/> According to [[Trita Parsi]], the killings were not carried out by the US and they were not consistent with the manner in which US intelligence agencies would perform them. [[Michael Rubin]] agreed, saying that he did not think the US had the necessary "human intelligence knowledge".<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|last1=Levs|first1=Josh|title=Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists?|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/11/world/meast/iran-who-kills-scientists/|date=11 January 2012|accessdate=12 February 2016|work=CNN}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Some believe that the assassinations may have been sanctioned by the Iranian government itself.<ref name="CNN"/> According to Mahboobeh Hosseinpour, her brother [[Ardeshir Hosseinpour]] was killed by [[Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Iran's Revolutionary Guard]], when he refused to corporate in a program that was aimed at creating [[Iran and weapons of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]]. According to the Iranian scholar and journalist [[Alireza Nourizadeh]], Ardeshir Hosseinpour emailed him about his secret project and this may have been the cause of his assassination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.radiofarda.com/Article/2007/01/21/f4_scientist_nuk_dies.html |title=مرگ مشکوک يک دانشمند هسته ای جمهوری اسلام (Scientist Nuk Dies) |publisher=[[Radio Farda]] |language=Persian |accessdate=2007-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.618876|title=Sister of Murdered Iranian Nuclear Scientist Blames Revolutionary Guards - Not Israel|last=Haaretz|date=2014-10-02|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/israel-didnt-assassinate-iranian-physicist-in-2007-revolutionary-guard-did-sister-says|title=Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says|website=National Post|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/israel-didnt-assassinate-iranian-physicist-in-2007-revolutionary-guard-did-sister-says|title=Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says|website=National Post|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-accused-of-assassinating-its-own-nuclear-scientist/|title=Iran accused of assassinating its own nuclear scientist|website=The Times of Israel|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-nuclear-physicist-killed-by-Revolutionary-Guard-not-Israel-relative-claims-376656|title=Iranian nuclear physicist killed by Revolutionary Guard, not Israel, relative claims|website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenewiran.com/article_detail.asp?aid=437|title=The New Iran|website=TheNewIran.com|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930073938/http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=40909|title=The Media Line|date=2014-09-30|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 04:06, 14 March 2016
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Four Iranian nuclear scientists—Masoud Alimohammadi, Majid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan—have been killed since 2010.[1][2] Two 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 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 and Michael Rubin the assassinations may have been carried out by the dissident Mujahedin-e-Khalq group on behalf of Mossad. Mark Hibbs states that Iranians who oppose the current regime could have carried out the attacks.[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 speculations are that the assassinations may have been sanctioned by the Iranian government itself or may have been carried out by the Iranian opposition parties.[7]
Timeline of attacks
- 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.[8]
- 23 July 2011; Rezaeinejad was killed by motorcycle-borne gunmen in July 2011 outside the front gate of the family home.[9]
- 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.[10][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.[11]
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.[12]
United States
Iranian officials blame the United States, in addition to Israel, for the killings; in response, 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 were not carried out by the US and they were not consistent with the manner in which US intelligence agencies would perform them. Michael Rubin agreed, saying that he did not think the US had the necessary "human intelligence knowledge".[7]
Iranian government
Some believe that the assassinations may have been sanctioned by the Iranian government itself.[7] According to Mahboobeh Hosseinpour, her brother Ardeshir Hosseinpour was killed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, when he refused to corporate in a program that was aimed at creating weapons of mass destruction. According to the Iranian scholar and journalist Alireza Nourizadeh, Ardeshir Hosseinpour emailed him about his secret project and this may have been the cause of his assassination.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
References
- ^ a b Hasan, Mehdi. "Iran's nuclear scientists are not being assassinated. They are being murdered". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ a b Meikle, James. "Iran: timeline of attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Vick, Karl; Klein, Aaron J. "Who Assassinated an Iranian Nuclear Scientist? Israel Isn't Telling". Time. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d Staff writers (4 January 2015). "Iran 'thwarts Mossad attempt to assassinate nuclear scientist'". Russia Today. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Sridharan, Vasudevan. "Israel hints at resuming assassinations of Iran nuclear scientists". International Business Times. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g Levs, Josh (11 January 2012). "Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists?". CNN. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ Borger, Julia; Kamali Dehghan, Saeed. "Covert war against Iran's nuclear aims takes chilling turn". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Koring, Paul (18 June 2012). "The undeclared war on Iran's nuclear program". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- ^ Staff writers (1 April 2015). "Iran accuses Israel of killing nuclear scientists". i24news. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ Raviv, Dan. "U.S. pushing Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists". CBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ^ Cockburn, Patrick. "Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?". Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ "مرگ مشکوک يک دانشمند هسته ای جمهوری اسلام (Scientist Nuk Dies)" (in Persian). Radio Farda. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
- ^ Haaretz (2014-10-02). "Sister of Murdered Iranian Nuclear Scientist Blames Revolutionary Guards - Not Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says". National Post. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says". National Post. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Iran accused of assassinating its own nuclear scientist". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Iranian nuclear physicist killed by Revolutionary Guard, not Israel, relative claims". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "The New Iran". TheNewIran.com. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "The Media Line". 2014-09-30. Retrieved 2016-03-13.