Iranian Nuclear Scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh Was Killed With 'Satellite-Controlled' Machine Gun, Iran Claims

Iranian scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh was killed in a November ambush on his car with the help of artificial intelligence and a machine gun controlled by a “satellite-controlled smart system,” the Tasnim News Agency reported.

Fakhrizadeh, who was a senior nuclear and defense scientist, was assassinated on Nov. 27. Ali Fadavi, the deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was quoted by Tasnim, a semi-official news outlet, as saying there weren't any enemy attackers at the scene, and that the “satellite-controlled” automatic weapon was mounted on a pickup truck.

Fadavi said some of the bullets were fired at the bodyguards and the gun narrowed in on Fakhrizadeh. A top security guard was killed while shielding the scientist from the hail of bullets. The scientist subsequently lost his life after a bullet that hit his back amputated his spinal cord, the deputy commander noted.

Since then, Iran has accused Israel of assassinating the scientist, who was perceived by Western intelligence services as the mastermind of a covert Iranian program to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the allegations.

Israel has not responded to the accusations and the Tasnim report has been discredited by an Israeli official as a face-saving gambit by Iran.

Israel has been accused of using covert operations and intelligence gathering in response to Iran's nuclear program.

Last week, officials and experts told Reuters that Fakhrizadeh’s assassination has revealed some security gaps that can be seen as an indication that some of the security forces may have been compromised and that Iran may be vulnerable to future attacks.

“Some 13 shots were fired at martyr Fakhrizadeh with a machine gun controlled by satellite... During the operation artificial intelligence and face recognition were used,” Tasnim quoted Fadavi as saying during a ceremony Sunday. “His wife, sitting 25 centimeters away from him in the same car, was not injured.”

Yoav Galant, an Israeli security cabinet minister, said “he was not aware” of the existence of remote-controlled targeting technology described in the Iranian accounts, Reuters reported. “What I see is a great deal of embarrassment on the Iranian side,” Galant, a former naval commando and deputy chief of Israel’s military, told Army Radio. “It would appear that those who were responsible for his (Fakhrizadeh’s) security are now coming up with reasons for not having fulfilled that mission.”