On Friday, 27 November 2020, and in continuation of the efforts by Iran’s enemies for assassinating the scientists of my country, a killing spree that had begun in 2010, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a deputy of the Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran and head of the Research and Innovation Organization of the ministry, was martyred in a terrorist attack near Tehran.
Besides being a top nuclear scientist, the shaheed Fakhrizadeh played a leading role in scientific researches such as the production of corona diagnostic kits and corona vaccines. For his remarkable role in Iran’s scientific and technical progress, Iran’s foes were trying for the last 20 years to kill and physically eliminate him, but they had failed in that until the fateful day.
Unfortunately, this time, in an act of state terrorism, a usurper regime assassinated a government official of Iran along with his bodyguards and killed and wounded a number of ordinary citizens. This cowardly and provocative act is irrefutably an open violation of international laws, the UN Charter and human rights. From the information obtained so far, including from the advanced weapons collected from the place of attack, the hand of the Zionist regime in the killing of Fakhrizadeh is quite evident. On the other hand, according to the reports published by the US media, as the daily New York Times, this terrorist attack was indeed a joint operation by Israel and America. That is why the Islamic Republic of Iran considers this attack as a clear example of state terrorism whose responsibility lies legally on the shoulders of its planners and their allies.
The state terrorism by the Zionist regime and some of its regional and extra-regional allies show that the enemies of diplomacy are totally desperate and want to jeopardize the regional peace and stability through creating unrest in the region. The Trump administration, the Zionist regime, and their allies, out of their frustration from failure in bringing Iran to its knees through their maximum pressure campaign and inhuman and unlawful sanctions, now want to weaken the diplomatic efforts for resolving the regional crises by resorting to brazen measures, like the killing of Shaheed Fakhrizadeh, when the Trump presidentship is coming to a close.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has always shown that while it cautiously and patiently faces these kinds of conspiracies against its national interests and those against the security, peace, stability, and progress of the regional countries including its friend and brother country of Pakistan, reserves the right to respond to this crime and punish its perpetrators. It will give its response at a proper time, as it did decisively to the assassination of Shaheed Qasem Soleimani.
I want to draw the attention of my Pakistani brothers to two points. First, by virtue of various reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency, all Iranian nuclear programs are clearly peaceful in the eyes of this international body and all of its member countries. Thus, such assassinations, that too by a regime that has the least atomic transparency, highlight the inherent nature of the regime: a complete disregard for the law. I hope that the countries who are on the path of normalization of ties with this expansionist regime would understand that this regime is not bound to any international law or commitment and jubilation over the signing of an agreement with this regime would be a strategic mistake.
Second, since the Islamic revolution in Iranians, over 17,000 Iranians have been killed in terrorist attacks. But, some European countries and the USA who claim to be ardent supporters of human rights, have not only not condemned these attacks but have even become safe sleeping cells for terrorists and take pride in laying red carpets for them. The authorities in these countries attend the functions of these terrorist groups and also deliver their speeches there.
The people of Iran expect a befitting and transparent response from all countries particularly ones who claim to be the defenders of human rights and the forerunners in the fight against terrorism. These kinds of countries should know that their double standards on terrorism will not only not help in solving this global crisis, but will result in its deepening across the world.
In the end, I feel it necessary to assure my Pakistani brothers that these kinds of cowardly acts will not only not be able to entrap Iran into the net of the war-mongering and hawkish regimes, but also cannot be able to cause any smallest of interruption in the advancement of science and technology in Iran.
Ahmad Mohammadi
Consul General
The Islamic Republic of Iran
Karachi
