Sanders Slams Assassination of Iran Nuclear Scientist: ‘Reckless and Illegal’
'Clearly intended to undermine US-Iran diplomacy'
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Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders described the assassination of Iranian nuclear program scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as illegal and provocative meant to subvert diplomacy.
Sanders wrote in a tweet:
“The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was reckless, provocative, and illegal."
"As a new administration takes power, it was clearly intended to undermine US-Iran diplomacy."
"We must not allow that to happen. Diplomacy, not murder, is the best path forward."
The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was reckless, provocative, and illegal. As a new administration takes power, it was clearly intended to undermine U.S.-Iran diplomacy. We must not allow that to happen.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 28, 2020
Diplomacy, not murder, is the best path forward. https://t.co/BzOhNmwSGv
Fakhrizadeh was assassinated near Tehran's capital city following a battle between his security team and unidentified assailants.
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In a famous 2018 presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fakhrizadeh was described as the “father of the Iranian bomb.”
The Iran Tasnim news agency agreed with Sanders and cited a New York Times report alleging Israel was behind the assassination.
“One American official — along with two other intelligence officials — said that Israel was behind the attack on the scientist,” the paper said.
“It was unclear how much the United States may have known about the operation in advance, but the two nations are the closest of allies and have long shared intelligence regarding Iran,” it added.
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According to CNN host Fareed Zakaria, the assassination was designed to make things harder for Joe Biden.
He claimed the Israelis “force Iran’s hand, make it raise tensions in the Middle East, and either Iran will retaliate, or whether it doesn’t, it raises the tensions enough that Joe Biden faces a problem.”
Iran’s Major General Hossein Salami warned Iran will always “push back” hard against aggressors.
Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement:
“The enemies of the Iranian nation, especially the masterminds, perpetrators, and supporters of this crime should know such crimes will not undermine Iranians’ determination and will to continue this dignified path, and tough revenge and punishment for them have been put on the agenda."
