Rouhani says Iran won't leave nuclear scientist's assassination 'unanswered,' accuses Israel
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said Iran would not leave the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, one of Iran's top nuclear scientists whom Israeli and American intelligence officials suspected led Tehran's nuclear weapons program, "unanswered." Rouhani blamed Israel for the assassination — "once again, the evil hands of global arrogance and the Zionist mercenaries were stained with the blood of an Iranian son," he said — and warned of retaliation "in due time."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei didn't mention Israel in his response, but he said Iranian officials must commit to "pursuing this crime and punishing its perpetrators and those who commanded it."
Israel hasn't publicly commented on the incident, but U.S. officials told The New York Times that Jerusalem was indeed behind Friday's attack. It's unclear how much the U.S. knew before it took place, but the two countries are close allies and often share intelligence on Iran.
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Although there was no official word from the Israeli government, the country reportedly put its embassies on high alert around the world. The military, however, reportedly remains on "routine footing," perhaps indicating that Israel expects a potential Iranian retaliation to be on a smaller scale. Read more at The New York Times.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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