After Fakhrizadeh Assassination, Iran to Raise Uranium Enrichment 20%

The Iranian parliament voted Sunday by an overwhelming majority on raising uranium enrichment to 20%. It was a part of the parliament discussion on the draft law on strategic measures to cancel sanctions.

The parliamentary meeting was attended by 232 deputies out of 246, and they voted in favor of the resolution.

The Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf asserted that "the draft strategic measures bill to lift the sanctions will limit the terrorist acts launched by the enemy against Iran."

On his part, Defense Minister Amir Hatami said Monday that "the response to the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is coming and is inevitable, and it will be severe."

"The assassination of Fakhrizadeh will not pass without a response," Hatami said, during the funeral ceremony of Iranian nuclear scientist.

"No assassination, no crime, or any foolish act against Tehran will pass without a response," Hatami threatened those who killed Fakhrizadeh. "We will pursue the perpetrators of the assassination of Fakhrizadeh until the end, and they will pay a heavy price."

The minister stressed that "Tehran will pursue the perpetrators of the assassination, those who planned it and those who stand behind them until they are punished."

He added: "The enemy has not been able to use the military option against Iran over the past four decades." He explained that "the military option against Iran is now under the table."

He went on saying: "The assassination of the scientist Fakhrizadeh will not stop the march of the country's nuclear program, but will accelerate its pace."

Hatami noted that "the budget for the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology Center, which was headed by Fakhrizadeh, will be twice as high for the next world."

The Iranian Minister of Defense indicated that his country will continue its fight in Syria and Iraq, and is proud of that.

On Sunday, President Hassan Rouhani said that his country would respond in due time to the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, describing the operation as an “Israeli trap.”

He accused arch-foe Israel of acting as a US “mercenary” and seeking to create chaos, vowing Tehran would avenge the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist.