Magnetic bombs attached to a car by motorcyclists in Iran killed two people on Wednesday, including Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan — a university professor, chemistry expert, and director at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
According to the BBC’s Mohsen Asgari, the explosion was caused by a targeted device intended to strike only one or two people and not be heard from a distance. The car that was hit remained virtually intact. As was to be expected, Iranian officials were quick to blame Israel. According to the deputy governor of Tehran, Safarali Baratloo: “The bomb was…the same as the ones previously used for the assassination of the scientists, and the work of the Zionists.”
The car hit by a bomb in Iran that killed Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. |
Indeed, the attack follows other similar assassinations and explosions targeting Iran’s nuclear sector that seems to comprise a larger covert operation to halt Iran’s atomic program. Since June 2009, four Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in attacks and a number of others hurt or kidnapped. Even more people have been killed in explosions at facilities linked to the nuclear program.
According to controversial blogger Richard Silverstein, a “confidential Israeli source” confirmed that the Mossad was behind the bombing with the help of the Kurdish militant organization, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), which opposes the current Islamic regime. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quickly republished Silverstein’s words.
However, as with the previous attacks, there is no knowing the culprit. Iran is currently experiencing internal unrest, and reports have even suggested that members within the Revolutionary Guards are interested in overthrowing its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As this blog previously mentioned, the Iranian regime is not short of enemies. Like its Arab neighbors, it may come to face serious problems this year.
