Iran sentences three to death over assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

Iran’s judiciary has sentenced three individuals to death in connection with the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a leading figure in the nation’s nuclear program, an act Tehran attributes to Israeli operatives.

The sentences were handed down by a lower court in Urmia, a city in northwestern Iran, near the borders with Turkey and Syria. “The sentencing of these three people was carried out in the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, and they were sentenced to death in the initial stage, and the case is currently in the appeal stage,” stated Asghar Jahangir, spokesperson for Iran’s judiciary, during a news conference.

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This development comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, particularly in light of ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The three convicted individuals, whose identities have not been disclosed, are accused of collaborating with Israel, with Jahangir noting that “three out of eight people arrested in West Azerbaijan province were accused of spying for the occupying regime of Israel.” Furthermore, they allegedly smuggled equipment into Iran for the assassination disguised as alcoholic beverages.

Fakhrizadeh, often referred to as the “father” of Iran’s nuclear program, was assassinated in a sophisticated attack on November 27, 2020, near Tehran. Initial reports suggested a coordinated assault involving explosives and armed assailants, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps later claimed the use of a machine gun equipped with a “satellite-controlled smart system” to carry out the attack, which remarkably left his wife unharmed.

Israel has remained silent regarding the assassination, which forms part of a broader pattern of targeting Iranian nuclear scientists suspected of involvement in military nuclear endeavors.