TEHRAN – Iranians are marking the 3rd assassination anniversary of prominent nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed during an attack orchestrated by Israel in 2020.

During a commemoration ceremony held in the capital Tehran, Brigadier General Amir Hatami, a military advisor to Iran’s Leader and former defense minister, hailed Fakhrizadeh as a figure that actively fought against nuclear threats made by Iran’s enemies. 

“From a young age he fought against arrogance and aggressors and went to the front lines of truth against falsehood during his activities in modern warfare,” Hatami noted.

The former defense chief explained that Fakhrizadeh’s endeavors in science and technology were largely inspired by what Iran had gone through during Iraqi dictator Saddam Hossein’s war on the country. The illegal use of chemical weapons against Iran throughout the 8-year war was allegedly a wakeup call for the deceased scientist who sought to protect Iran against all sorts of threats.  

“The Ba'athist regime widely used these weapons against Iranian and Iraqi soldiers and people with the support of the West, contrary to all international treaties,” he said.

Hatami drew parallels with the crimes the Israeli regime is brazenly committing in Gaza today, saying the U.S. and its allies could not care less about the massacre of innocent civilians. 

“This martyr believed that those who make and maintain thousands of nuclear bombs are the same people who dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of people, and the Zionist regime today also has hundreds of nuclear bombs and is a serious threat to the world,” he stated.

The advisor to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khameni also added that Fakhrizadeh was largely involved in the production of vaccine, and was preparing to launch a domestic covid vaccine line before he was assassinated by Israel. 

Fakhrizadeh’s killing was followed by scathing criticism from Iranian officials, who accused international bodies and Western governments of turning a blind eye to Israeli crimes against non-combatants. 

The scientist was assassinated in a complicated operation that involved electronic equipment without any assassin at the scene, according to then-Secretary of National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani.

Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for Fakhrizadeh’s assassination. But during a 2018 conference Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned Fakhrizadeh as the “mastermind of Iran’s nuclear program”, urging the attendees to “remember that name”. Iranian officials have confirmed Israel’s full complicity in the attack.

Fakhrizadeh is among the 6 nuclear scientists that have been murdered by Israel since 2010.