Demonstrative Response To Deadly Attack On Iranian Physicist Unlikely - Russian Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2020) Tehran is unlikely to launch a demonstrative response to the killing of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Russian upper house lawmaker Alexey Pushkov says.

Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian nuclear physicist and the head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's research and innovation center, was attacked by gunmen in the town of Absard in Iran's Tehran Province on Friday. He was gravely injured and died at a hospital.

"Iran's response to the murder of Fakhrizadeh is unlikely to be demonstrative. Tehran is interested in the return of the United States to an agreement on Iran's nuclear program. It is clear that the murder was intended to ramp up tensions and disrupt such a scenario. Iran will not give a reason for war: this is what its enemies are waiting for," Pushkov wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan said on Twitter that the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was "highly reckless" and could provoke "lethal retaliation and a new round of regional conflict."

Iran has accused Israel of being involved in the death of the nuclear scientist. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the international community to condemn the act. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that the killing would not go unanswered and that there would be a response "at the right time."

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Saturday that the international community should condemn the attack that claimed the life of the Iranian nuclear physicist and called on the United Nations to step up counter-terrorism efforts.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry condemned the killing of Fakhrizadeh, calling it "heinous murder" and warning against any actions that could threaten regional peace and stability.

A spokesperson of the German Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Saturday that Berlin was concerned that the killing of the Iranian physicist could increase tensions in the middle Eastern region.