Iranian Military Says Nuclear Physicist Was Assassinated by Satellite-Controlled Weapon

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - The weapon used to assassinate Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was remotely controlled from a satellite, Brig. Gen. Ramazan Sharif, the spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said on Sunday.

Fakhrizadeh, one of the key figures behind Iran's nuclear program and the head of the Iranian Defence Ministry's Innovation Centre, died as a result of an attack near Tehran on 27 November.

As quoted by IRGC-run news portal Sepah News, Sharif said that the assassination had been carried out with the use of "an advanced electronic equipment controlled from a satellite."

That Fakhrizadeh could have been assassinated with the use of a satellite-controlled weapon was earlier also reported by Iranian Arabic-language state news agency Al-Alam, citing sources.

According to reports by Iranian news agency Fars, the physicist was shot dead from a remotely-controlled weapon installed in a Nissan car at a distance of 150 meters (492 feet). The fact that no other people were present at the assassination site except for Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards was later confirmed by the Iranian authorities.

Tehran officials have blamed the attack on Israel and the anti-Islamic Revolution organisation People's Mujahedin of Iran, vowing revenge. Some Iranian officials have also pointed to the involvement of the United States and Saudi Arabia.