TEHRAN – Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi says numerous clues have been found with regard to the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top nuclear scientist who was killed in a terrorist attack outside Tehran on Friday.

“Following the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh, my colleagues in the Intelligence Ministry have started following up on this incident in all aspects and have so far obtained many clues,” Alavi said on the sidelines of the scientist’s funeral procession on Monday.

“Due to its security aspects, it is not possible to inform the public until all its dimensions are clarified, but as soon as the dimensions of this issue are clarified, the dear nation of Iran will be informed,” he added.

Fakhrizadeh, a senior nuclear and defense scientist, was assassinated in a small city east of Tehran on November 27.

In a message after the incident, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on all relevant administrators to “investigate this crime and firmly prosecute its perpetrators and its commanders” and “to continue the martyr’s scientific and technological efforts in all the sectors where he was active.”

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said on Monday that no hit man was involved in the assassination, adding that the distinguished figure was killed in a complicated operation that involved electronic equipment without any assassin at the scene.

“Unfortunately, the operation was a very complicated one. It took place with the employment of electronic equipment. No person (assassin) was present at the scene,” he explained.

IRGC chief: ‘We determine the time, place and quality of the response’

The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Iran will soon determine the time and place of a retaliation for the act of terror.

“Enemies must await our response,” Major General Hossein Salami said on the sidelines of the funeral procession. “We determine the time, place and quality of the response.”

President Hassan Rouhani has said that Israel was behind the assassination of the prominent scientist.

“Once again, the evil hands of global arrogance and their Zionist mercenaries, were stained with the blood of another Iranian, causing deep grief across the nation for losing a hard-working scientist,” Rouhani said in a message on Saturday.

Undoubtedly, he said, the horrific terrorist attack is due to the inability of Iran’s enemies against the country’s scientific movement and the honors and capabilities of the great nation of Iran. 

“It also comes after the enemies’ repeated defeats in the region and other political arenas, and the depth of their malice and resentment,” the president noted.

MH/PA