Iran bids farewell to slain scientist

Tehran: Slain Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was laid to rest after a official funeral held here on Monday. The ceremony was attended by senior military and political leaders. The public was not allowed to attend due to the health measures related to the Corona pandemic.

Qom and Mashhad, Iran's other prominent holy cities, also paid their respect to the slain scientist on Sunday where his remains were displayed before taking to Tehran.

During the ceremony - which was held this morning at the Ministry of Defense - Defense Minister Amir Hatami said, "Our response to the assassination of Fakhri Zadeh is coming and is inevitable, and it will be severe punishment for those who committed this crime."

Hatami categorically stated that the assassination of Fakhrizadeh would not deter Iran's ongoing nuclear program, but would only accelerate its pace.

Meanwhile, Iran's official media on Monday also continued to release the details of the assassination citing official sources.

Head of Iran's National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, was quoted saying that Fakhrizadeh was assassinated using remotely controlled tools, with no human gunmen on the scene.

There were initial reports that the scientist vehicle was sprayed with bullets by several gunmen. However, subsequent enquiries suggested that an unmanned vehicle with a remotely-controlled machine gun was used in the attack.