Mohsen Fahrizade, Iran's chief military nuclear scientist, has been assassinated, according to Iranian media outlets. He led the "Amad" military program which Israel alleged was researching how to build a nuclear weapon. The program reportedly ended in the early 2000s.
BREAKING: Mohsen Fahrizade the architect of Iran's military nuclear program was assassinated in Tehran, Iranian media reports
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 27, 2020
An Iranian scientist that Israel alleged led the Islamic Republic's military nuclear program before it was disbanded has been killed in a shootout, Iranian state television said.https://t.co/uCgiGMcEN0
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 27, 2020
As the AP reports:
The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the country’s Revolutionary Guard, said the attack happened in Absard, a small city just east of the capital, Tehran. It said witnesses heard the sound of an explosion and then machine gun fire. The attack targeted a car that Fakhrizadeh was in, the agency said.
In 2015 President Obama signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, which was supposed to, in part, allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect nuclear sites in Iran and usher in an era of "peace." As expected, Iran did not appear to honor the agreement, thwarting those inspectors and amassing enriched uranium well past the agreed to limits. And so when he assumed office, President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal and imposed economic sanctions against the country.
"I am announcing today the United State will withdraw from the Iran Nuclear deal," Trump said in 2018. "This is a horrible, one sided deal that should have never been reached..It didn't bring calm, it didn't bring peace and it never will."
Reports suggest that President Trump will be enforcing more sanctions before Jan. 20.
