Iran also wrote the UN Secretary-General and UNSC, saying it reserves the right to protect its interests
Iran’s top nuclear scientist was assassinated neat Tehran, and Iran is calling out Israel for carrying out the terrorist attack. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, 59, was the head of the Defense Ministry’s Research and Innovation Organization. He was injured when a gun battle between his security detail and assailants took place.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani named Israeli as the perpetrator of the attack. “Once again, the evil hands of global arrogance were stained with the blood of the mercenary usurper Zionist regime,” Rouhani said in a statement.
Similar sentiments were expressed by a military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who felt that such actions were undertaken to provoke a war. “In the last days of the political life of their…ally [the U.S. President Donald Trump], the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war,” Commander Hossein Dehghan tweeted.
UN Secretary-General calls for calm
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged restraint from Iran. “We have noted the reports that an Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated near Tehran today. We urge restraint and the need to avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region,” Guterres’ spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Iran writes to UN Secretary-General, UNSC
Iran wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council that there are “serious indications of Israeli responsibility” in the assassination and that it reserves the right to defend itself. The Islamic Republic made it clear that they reserve the right to secure its people and interests.
“Warning against any adventuristic measures by the United States and Israel against my country, particularly during the remaining period of the current administration of the United States in office, the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its rights to take all necessary measures to defend its people and secure its interests,” the letter read.