Report: Israel Assassinated Mastermind Behind Iranian Nuclear Program Using 1-Ton Automated Gun

JERUSALEM, Israel – A top Iranian nuclear scientist who was assassinated in November was killed by the Israeli Mossad using a one-ton automated gun, The Jewish Chronicle reported.

Iranian officials blamed Israel for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s death but there were few details surrounding his assassination.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, a spy team of more than 20 Israelis and Iranians worked together to smuggle the one-ton gun into the country piece by piece. The news cited unnamed international intelligence sources who said Israel’s Mossad carried out the attack without the help of the United States, and that US officials were only given “a little clue” prior to the attack.

The veracity of the report cannot be independently verified.

Fakhrizadeh, considered the mastermind behind Iran’s nuclear program, was killed while traveling by car with his wife and bodyguards on Nov. 27. The automated gun was mounted to a Nissan pickup and showered Fakhrizadeh with 13 bullets in a precise hit that left his wife and bodyguards unharmed, the report said. The device was detonated to destroy evidence of the assassination, according to The Jewish Chronicle.

“The Mossad had documents proving that Fakhrizadeh had worked on several nuclear warheads, each one able to cause five Hiroshimas,” Jacob Nagel, a senior Israeli defense official told The Jewish Chronicle.

“He was serious. He still meant to do what he planned. So someone decided that he had had enough time on earth.”

The report came as Iran and the US face-off over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Iran’s Intelligence Minister warned that Tehran may pursue a nuclear bomb if the US does not lift crippling sanctions on the country.

President Joe Biden has said he intends to negotiate a stronger nuclear deal than the one world powers signed with Iran in 2015, but says that won’t happen until Iran stops openly violating the agreement.

In recent weeks, Iran has ramped up its violations of the nuclear deal by enriching uranium to 20% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade. The country also said it wants to experiment with uranium metals, a key ingredient for a nuclear warhead.

Israel strongly opposes efforts to revive the Iranian nuclear deal and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi has said the Israeli military is preparing plans to hit Iran’s nuclear program in the coming year.

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