TEHRAN: Assailants on motorcycles attached magnetised bombs to the cars of two nuclear scientists in Tehran today, killing one and wounding another who is on a UN sanctions list for suspect activity. The president accused Israel and the West of being behind the attacks.
The wounded scientist, Fereidoun Abbasi, is specified by a 2007 UN resolution for sanctions because of suspected links to secret nuclear activities, describing him as a Defense Ministry scientist.
Iranian media said he was a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the country's strongest military force.
The other scientist, who died in the attack and does not appear in any UN resolutions, was involved in a major project with Iran's nuclear agency, said the agency's chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, though he did not give specifics.
Iranian officials said they suspected the assassination was part of a covert campaign aimed at damaging the country's nuclear programme, which the US and its allies says is intended to build a weapon, a claim Tehran denies.
The wounded scientist, Fereidoun Abbasi, is specified by a 2007 UN resolution for sanctions because of suspected links to secret nuclear activities, describing him as a Defense Ministry scientist.
Iranian media said he was a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the country's strongest military force.
The other scientist, who died in the attack and does not appear in any UN resolutions, was involved in a major project with Iran's nuclear agency, said the agency's chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, though he did not give specifics.
Iranian officials said they suspected the assassination was part of a covert campaign aimed at damaging the country's nuclear programme, which the US and its allies says is intended to build a weapon, a claim Tehran denies.
At least two other Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in recent years, one of them in an attack similar to today's.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a press conference that "undoubtedly, the hand of the Zionist regime and Western governments is involved in the assassination."
But he said the attack would not hamper the nuclear programme and vowed that one day Iran would take retribution. "The day in the near future when time will come for taking them into account, their file will be very thick," he said.
Asked about the Iranian accusations, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel did not comment on such matters. Washington has strongly denied any link to previous attacks.
The attacks, as described by Iranian officials, appeared sophisticated.
In each case, assailants on motorcycles approached the cars as they were moving through Tehran and attached magnetised bombs to the vehicles, Tehran police chief Hossein Sajednia said. The bombs exploded seconds later, he said, according to the state news agency IRNA.
He said no one has been arrested in connection with the attack nor no one has so far claimed responsibility.
The bombings both took place in the morning, but there were conflicting reports on what time each took place. The bombs went off in two separate locations, in north and northeast Tehran, that lie about a 15-minute drive apart without traffic.
The slain scientist, Majid Shahriari, was a member of the nuclear engineering faculty at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. His wife, who was in the car with him, was wounded.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a press conference that "undoubtedly, the hand of the Zionist regime and Western governments is involved in the assassination."
But he said the attack would not hamper the nuclear programme and vowed that one day Iran would take retribution. "The day in the near future when time will come for taking them into account, their file will be very thick," he said.
Asked about the Iranian accusations, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel did not comment on such matters. Washington has strongly denied any link to previous attacks.
The attacks, as described by Iranian officials, appeared sophisticated.
In each case, assailants on motorcycles approached the cars as they were moving through Tehran and attached magnetised bombs to the vehicles, Tehran police chief Hossein Sajednia said. The bombs exploded seconds later, he said, according to the state news agency IRNA.
He said no one has been arrested in connection with the attack nor no one has so far claimed responsibility.
The bombings both took place in the morning, but there were conflicting reports on what time each took place. The bombs went off in two separate locations, in north and northeast Tehran, that lie about a 15-minute drive apart without traffic.
The slain scientist, Majid Shahriari, was a member of the nuclear engineering faculty at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. His wife, who was in the car with him, was wounded.
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