Sajad Safari/AFP/Getty Images - Iranian security forces inspect the site where a magnetic bomb attached to a car by a motorcyclist exploded outside a university in Tehran on Wednesday, killing a scientist and injuring two other people, according to Iranian news agencies.
“It certainly increases their paranoia,” said Robert Baer, a former CIA case officer in the Middle East. “In any case, they’re not going to stop their program just because a scientist is dead.”
Among Western officials and experts, speculation about the possible culprit included Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Iranian opposition groups and Sunni Arab governments seeking to thwart the ambitions of Iran’s Shiite rulers.
An Iranian nuclear expert was killed Wednesday by a magnetic bomb attached to his car, state media reported. Officials were quoted as accusing Israel in the attack, suspected as part of a covert effort to set back Iran's nuclear program. (Jan. 11)
In Israel, among those commenting on the attack was Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, chief military spokesman, who made an unusual posting on his official Facebook page hours after the killing: “Don’t know who settled the score with the Iranian scientist, but for sure I am not shedding a tear.”
The posting sparked a debate on his page, with some readers saying he should be more discreet.
Iran filed a formal complaint about the attack late Wednesday with the United Nations, saying its scientists were victims of “cruel, inhumane and criminal acts of terrorism.”
“There is firm evidence that certain foreign quarters are behind such assassinations,” Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, wrote to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He added that Iran would not be pressured into giving up its “inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”
In the Iranian capital, members of parliament reacted to news of the bombing by shouting “Death to America!” and pumping their fists in the air in a show of defiance. Parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee called an emergency session to discuss a response to the “terrorist act,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
One analyst who supports Iran’s leaders said it was time for Iran to strike back. “From now on, the reciprocation is internationally acceptable and legitimate,” said Mehdi Mohammadi, an international affairs analyst who regularly appears on state television. “Iran is for sure able to enter a new phase of confrontation,” he told the Asriran Web site.
The attack occurred against the backdrop of a worsening international crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. The United States and its allies are preparing to implement harsh new economic sanctions against the Islamic republic, prompting a series of threats and provocations by Iranian officials. In the past two weeks, Iran threatened a U.S. aircraft carrier and vowed to shut down shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The nation also has sentenced to death a former U.S. Marine accused of spying for the CIA.
The Obama administration has been pressing allies to curb imports of Iranian petroleum, the country’s economic lifeblood.
The scientist targeted in Wednesday’s bombing was described by Iranian media as the deputy director of Iran’s largest uranium-enrichment facility, near the town of Natanz.
Fars said an assailant on a motorcycle attached the bomb to Ahmadi-Roshan’s car, in the attack caught on traffic-control cameras. Another news Web site, Alef, said witnesses heard gunshots before the explosion.
The site of Wednesday’s blast was cordoned off by security forces, who stopped and searched bystanders. The damaged car, a locally made Peugeot 405, was quickly removed.
Warrick reported from Washington. Special correspondents Ramtin Rastin in Tehran and Samuel Sockol in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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