Iran's Rouhani Blames Israel for Assassination of Top Nuclear Scientist

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed, on Friday, Israel for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

"Once again, the evil hands of global arrogance were stained with the blood of the mercenary usurper Zionist regime," Rouhani said in a statement in the state TV.

"The assassination of martyr Fakhrizadeh shows our enemies' despair and the depth of their hatred,” he added confirming that “His martyrdom will not slow down our achievements."

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed that there were “serious indications of Israeli role” in the assassination.

“Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today,” Zarif wrote on Twitter. “This cowardice—with serious indications of Israeli role—shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators.”

He also called on all the international community, especially EU, to “End their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror.”

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Later on Friday, Iran also wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Security Council, stressing that there are “serious indications of Israeli responsibility” in the assassination and that it reserves the right to defend itself.

Iran warned against " any adventuristic measures " by the United States, and Israel during the remainder of Donald Trump's presidency.

"Warning against any adventuristic measures by the United States and Israel against my country, particularly during the remaining period of the current administration of the United States in office,” Iran's UN envoy Majid Takht Ravanchi wrote in the letter, which was seen by Reuters.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its rights to take all necessary measures to defend its people and secure its interests."

Former Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, a presidential candidate in Iran’s 2021 election, issued a warning, referring to Trump’s administration.

"In the last days of the political life of their gambling ally’s political life, the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war," Dehghan stated.

“We will come upon the killers of this innocent martyr like a thunder and make them regret what they did,” he added.

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Trump retweeted a posting from Israeli journalist Yossi Melman, regarding the assassination.

Melman's tweet called Fakhrizadeh’s death a “major psychological and professional blow for Iran.”

On his part, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that would lead to escalation in the incident.

“We have noted the reports that an Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated near Tehran today,” Haq said. “We urge restraint and the need to avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region.”