Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

On 25 September 2022, Tehran's chief prosecutor announced that 14 people involved in the assassination of Fakhrizadeh have been indicted and charged with “corruption on the earth,” “involvement in intelligence and espionage cooperation with the Zionist regime,” “collusion with the purpose of undermining the security of the country,” and “action against national security”.

Security and intelligence experts have questioned this account, explaining that it would have introduced unnecessary risk factors for the culprits. Critics have suggested that this account was an excuse after Iranian authorities failed to capture the culprits. Noel Sharkey, a professor and member of the Campaign Against Killer Robots, expressed concern over the possible use of AI in the assassination, noting that it could have "unimaginable consequences" and cause a "downhill roll that would entirely disrupt global security". An open-source intelligence analyst used a three-dimensional modeling which found that the bullet trajectories originated from the same point, supporting the Iranian account. A U.S. based research group has questioned the use of either AI or a robot gun analysis presented in both the Iranian account, and the New York Times reporting on the operation and assassination. In February 2021, The Jewish Chronicle released a detailed account of the assassination citing "intelligence sources". According to the Jewish Chronicle, Fakhrizadeh was assassinated by the Mossad with no US involvement, and Israel had only given the US minimal prior warning. The report confirmed the Iranian claim of an automated machine gun being used, claiming that Fakhrizadeh was killed by a remotely-operated one-ton automated gun that had been smuggled into Iran piece by piece before being assembled, and which included a bomb so that it could self-destruct, though contrary to Iranian claims it was not satellite-operated. According to the report, more than 20 people were involved in the assassination, including both Israeli and Iranian nationals. Preparations for the assassination had allegedly commenced in March 2020, when Israeli spies were dispatched to Iran and liaised with local agents. The group had Fakhrizadeh under intense surveillance for eight months, and after his routine had been learned, the decision was made to kill him on the road leading east out of Tehran to Absard, where he had a villa to which he travelled on Fridays. According to the report, Fakhrizadeh's convoy was watched from a distance by a team of Israeli agents who activated the gun when his car passed the designated spot. The automated machine gun, which was mounted on the back of a Nissan pickup truck parked on the side of the road, opened fire, killing Fakhrizadeh. No one else was harmed in the assassination. As the Mossad team made its escape, the gun exploded, adding to the confusion at the scene.

In September 2021, The New York Times published an in-depth report of the assassination, claiming it was based on interviews with Israeli, Iranian, and American intelligence officials. According to the account, Israel had been monitoring Fakhrizadeh since 2007 and the Mossad had originally planned to assassinate him in 2009 but the operation was called off for fear of an ambush. Preparations for the assassination began in late 2019 or early 2020. The assassination was allegedly motivated by two factors: Iran's tepid retaliation to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 and the rising likelihood that Donald Trump was going to lose the 2020 United States presidential election to Joe Biden, who had indicated that he would try to return to the JCPOA deal. The assassination was carried out with a modified FN MAG machine gun attached to a robotic apparatus. The entire device weighed about one ton and was smuggled to Iran in pieces and reassembled. As per the report, the gun was put in place by Iranians working for the Mossad at a junction on the main road to Absard on a truck which also had a camera and a bomb so that it could be destroyed after the operation. The gun was controlled by a Mossad team operating from a command center outside Iran. Artificial intelligence was used to compensate for the slight time delay the operators had to deal with thousands of miles away as well as the speed of Fakhrizadeh's vehicle and the recoil of the gun that could possibly change the trajectory. As Fakhrizadeh's motorcade arrived at the junction, another vehicle which contained bodyguards rushed ahead toward his villa so they could inspect it before his arrival, leaving him exposed. When the convoy slowed for a speed bump in front of the truck, the Mossad team identified Fakhrizadeh and opened fire on his car, causing it to swerve and stop. Fakhrizadeh stepped out and crouched before the open door. He was then hit three times. The gun had fired 15 bullets. The truck then exploded but most of the equipment remained intact, albeit severely damaged.

After the incident, Iranian security forces began stopping vehicles in Tehran in a search for the culprits. No group claimed responsibility for his killing. On 8 December, Iranian authorities arrested several individuals in relation to the attack. They have yet to provide details about who they allegedly arrested. On 9 February 2021, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi stated that a member of the armed forces was suspected of involvement in the assassination. The Iranian armed forces subsequently denied that the person in question had been a soldier, claiming that he had been a trainee who was dismissed due to "moral issues and addiction" before being officially inducted, and thus as a civilian, it had been the Intelligence Ministry's job to monitor him.

Iranian officials blamed Israel for the assassination and claimed that it had acted in concert with Mujahideen-e-Khalq in carrying it out. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, tweeted: "Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardice—with serious indications of Israeli role—shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators. Iran calls on the international community—and especially EU to end their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror." Zarif also alleged Israeli involvement in the incident. Abdolrahim Mousavi, head of the Iranian army, blamed Israel and the US and threatened revenge. Hezbollah also criticized the killing and alleged US and Israeli involvement. In June 2021, Yossi Cohen, former head of Mossad, is said to have admitted Israel was behind the assassination off record, during an interview for Israeli television. According to Iranian state television, a weapon recovered from the scene carried "the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry".

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi (Persian: محسن فخری‌زاده مهابادی Fa-Kh-Ree-Zadeh; 1958 – 27 November 2020) was an Iranian nuclear physicist and scientist. He was regarded as the chief of Iran's nuclear program.

On 27 November 2020, the Israeli government assassinated Fakhrizadeh in a road ambush in Absard using an autonomous satellite-operated gun. In a June 2021 television interview, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen offered Israel's closest admission yet of its responsibility for the assassination. The Iranian government labelled the killing of the scientist an act of "state terror." The killing raised tensions in the region and the Iranian legislature passed a bill to block inspections of its nuclear program.

In 2020, following his death, Fakhrizadeh was said (by the Iranian government) to have been a key figure in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Iran particularly hard (COVID-19 pandemic in Iran). According to Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Fakhrizadeh led the team that developed the first Iranian COVID-19 tests. Iran's Defense Minister Amir Hatami reported that Fakhrizadeh had taken "great strides in the field of developing COVID-19 vaccine", later named FAKHRAVAC. He added that the center led by Fakhrizadeh went through the first phase of clinical human trials and "did great things for our dear people".

On 29 November 2020, the head of the Coronavirus Battle Headquarters of Tehran paid tribute to Fakhrizadeh as a prominent scientist and distinguished scholar in research, technology and the health sector.

A June 2020 U.S. Department of State report stated that former contributors to Iran's nuclear weapons program continued to work on "weaponization-relevant dual-use technical activities" under Fakhrizadeh. In November 2021, Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, hinted that Fakhrizadeh had worked on a nuclear weapons program, despite Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons.

Fakhrizadeh's security team advised him against traveling on 27 November 2020 due to a higher level of risk that day. According to one of his sons, "[Fakhrizadeh] refused because he had an important meeting, and he was supposed to lecture to students. He insisted on returning to Tehran the same day."

The year prior to his death saw escalating tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies. His own death followed the assassination of Major General Qassim Suleimani by the U.S. in January 2020 and the 2020 Iran explosions. The limited retaliation by the Iranian government to such incidents may have emboldened the Israeli effort to kill Fakhrizadeh.

On 27 November 2020, Fakhrizadeh was ambushed while traveling in a black Nissan Teana (pictured) on a rural road in Absard, a city near Tehran. He had been traveling between Tehran and his weekend villa: the area around Absard is filled with vacation villas for the Iranian elite. On that particular day, the roads were emptier than normal due to a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, giving the attackers an opportunity to strike with fewer people in the area. Accompanied by a convoy of three armored vehicles, he was driving with his wife in an armored car. The convoy carried eleven bodyguards. Many reports of the incident are conflicting and there are multiple competing narratives.

Iran's UN ambassador Majid Takht-Ravanchi confirmed Fakhrizadeh's key-role in COVID-19 research. Ravanchi reiterated that "the terror attack was aimed at disrupting scientific and technological development in Iran" while its people struggle under sanctions, COVID-19 and a plunging economy. A different opinion was also made public, when on 7 December 2020, an Israeli flag was hung over a pedestrian bridge in Tehran, along with a sign that read "Thank you Mossad". The display was widely shared across social media in Iran and outside.

On 29 November 2020, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei outlined his country's response to the killing: "There are two matters that people in charge should put in their to do list: 1- To follow up the atrocity and retaliate against those who were responsible for it. 2- To follow up Martyr Fakhrizadeh's scientific and technical activities in all fields in which he was active." At a cabinet meeting, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared, "The think tanks and the enemies of Iran must know that the Iranian nation and the officials in charge in the country are brave and determined to respond to the murder in time." In a public lawmaking session, Iranian legislators chanted "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" and then reviewed a bill which would block inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. As an "immediate response" to the killing, the bill was approved on 1 December. Rouhani has yet to endorse the bill, rendering it null.

Reformists, however, feared that any such reaction would limit the possibility of negotiations with the United States under Biden. Hossein Dehghan, the former minister of defense of Iran, who has been sanctioned by US Department of Treasury since November 2019, warned against any American military escalation in Trump's final weeks in office. In an interview with the Associated Press, he warned that any American attack on Iran could set off a "full-fledged war" in the region.

In a 2018 televised presentation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu singled out Fakhrizadeh. Relying on alleged Iranian documents obtained by Mossad, Netanyahu labelled Fakhrizadeh as the head of the AMAD Project. He then urged his audience to "remember his [Fakhrizadeh's] name".

About one year after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, during a ceremony in Iran International Conference Center on 8 February 2016, Hassan Rouhani awarded medals and orders to its nuclear negotiators and other key figures who helped to finalize the deal. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Hossein Dehghan, Ali Akbar Salehi were some of the names that were published by news agencies. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was one of the notables who received an Order of Service by Hassan Rouhani as well. But, this was classified until after his assassination.

After the AMAD Project was discontinued, Fakhrizadeh established and led the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a government-funded entity alleged by the US State department to be working on "dual-use research and development activities, of which aspects are potentially useful for nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems." Transliterated Sazman-e Pazhohesh va Noavarihaye Defaee, SPND was founded in February 2011 and headquartered within Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics. Fakhrizadeh was SPND's director between 2008 and 2011. SPND was affiliated with Malek-Ashtar University of Technology.

In 2010, The Guardian reported that Fakhrizadeh was believed to be in charge of Iran's nuclear programme. In 2012, The Wall Street Journal called him "Tehran's atomic weapons guru"; in 2014, The New York Times called him "the closest thing to an Iranian Oppenheimer". Following Fakhrizadeh's assassination, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described him as "the country's prominent and distinguished nuclear and defensive scientist". Western intelligence agencies, including those of the United States, alleged that Fakhrizadeh was in charge of Iran's nuclear programme, Project 111, which they contend is or was an attempt to create a nuclear bomb for Iran; Iran has denied that its nuclear programme has a military aspect. Fakhrizadeh has been referred to as the director of the Green Salt Project. According to The New York Times, Fakhrizadeh was described in classified portions of American intelligence reports as deeply involved in an effort to design a nuclear warhead for Iran.

Trita Parsi, the founder of the National Iranian American Council, labelled Israel the "prime suspect". Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated that the ambush "certainly has the hallmarks of an Israeli operation". According to The Guardian, Israel may have carried out the attack in order to take advantage of the waning term of President Trump. According to The New York Times, Fakhrizadeh was the number one target of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Mossad was allegedly involved in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, some of whom were Fakhrizadeh's deputies, in the 2010s. An American official and two other intelligence officials stated that Israel was behind the killing. However, Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli cabinet minister and close confidant of Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that he did not know who killed Fakhrizadeh. Israel has not confirmed or denied the allegations.

In 2008, the United States ordered his assets frozen, along with other Iranian officials.

A 2007 UN Security Council resolution identified Fakhrizadeh as a senior scientist in the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics and the former head of the Physics Research Center (PHRC) at Lavizan-Shian.

An internal 2007 Iranian document leaked to The Sunday Times identified Fakhrizadeh as the chairman of the Field for the Expansion of Deployment of Advanced Technology (FEDAT), the cover name for the organization running Iran's nuclear weapons programme. The document, entitled Outlook for Special Neutron-Related Activities over the Next Four Years, lays out a four-year plan to develop a uranium deuteride neutron initiator.

The Israeli government's foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, since 2007 has assassinated five Iranian scientists and wounded an additional one, using a variety of methods, including poisoning, remotely-detonated bombs, and motorcyclists shooting at the car of the targets. Israel had been seeking ways to assassinate Fakhrizadeh for years, and the effort resumed when U.S. President Trump in May 2018 abrogated the Iran nuclear deal.

As of 2006–07, Fakhrizadeh was subject to a United Nations Security Council asset freeze and travel notification requirements because the Council said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had asked to interview Fakhrizadeh and Iran refused to make him available. Iran has provided some information regarding Fakhrizadeh's work which the IAEA says is "not inconsistent with its findings", but the IAEA continues to seek corroboration of its findings. According to the UN designation, Fakhrizadeh was a senior Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics scientist and former head of the Physics Research Center (PHRC). The IAEA asked to interview him about the activities of the PHRC over the period he was head, but Iran denied the request. Fakhrizadeh was identified as a "key figure" in a 2007 report by the UN on Iran's nuclear programme.

Fakhrizadeh led the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research and the Green Salt Project. Due to Fakhrizadeh's affiliation with the Iranian nuclear program, both the United Nations Security Council and the United States ordered his assets frozen in the mid-2000s. In the early 2010s, he established and led the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, which, according to the United States, conducted research potentially useful for nuclear weapons. Iran has denied that its nuclear programme has a military aspect. In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Fakhrizadeh was the head of the AMAD Project. Following his death, the Iranian government said that in 2020, he helped develop COVID-19 testing kits and a vaccine for use during the pandemic.

In the early 2000s, Fakhrizadeh led an initiative called the Biological Study Centre, described as a successor to the Physics Research Centre (PHRC). The activities of this research group took place at Lavizan-Shian.

According to Alireza Jafarzadeh, Fakhrizadeh was a member of the Imam Hossein University (IHU) faculty beginning in 1991. At IHU, located in Tehran, he taught physics. According to a 2007 CIA assessment conducted under President of the United States George W. Bush, Fakhrizadeh's academic position was a "cover story".

Fakhrizadeh received his B.Sc in nuclear physics from Shahid Beheshti University in 1987. He continued his education at the Isfahan University of Technology and received a PhD in nuclear radiation and cosmic rays.

Born in Qom in 1958, Fakhrizadeh joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian revolution of 1979. He attended Shahid Beheshti University and later received a PhD from the University of Isfahan. Beginning in 1991, he was a physics professor at Imam Hossein University.

Fakhrizadeh was born in Qom in 1958. He became a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after the Iranian revolution in 1979.