MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) Iranian judiciary chief Seyed Ebrahim Raeisi has accused western countries of giving the go-ahead for terrorism, as they called on Iran to remain calm after the recent assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Mehr news agency reported on Monday.
On Saturday, European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Iran to exercise maximum restraint after Fakhrizadeh's killing in order to avoid escalation.
"Westerners who call for restraint in the face of terror are actually showing greenlight to terrorists," Raeisi said as quoted by the Iranian media.
The Iranian judiciary chief stressed that terrorism could be eliminated only by tough power and compared it with sanctions, saying that they could not be lifted through negotiations either.
"Experience shows that to counter sanctions and terror, one should only become stronger," Raeisi said as quoted by Mehr.
According to the media outlet, Raesi urged Iran's judicial and security services to identify and prosecute the perpetrators of Fakhrizadeh's assassination.
Fakhrizadeh, one of the key figures in Iran's nuclear program and the head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's innovation center, was killed in an attack near the northern Iranian town of Absard on Friday.
According to media reports, the scientist was killed by a remote-controlled automatic weapon after getting out of his armored car. Fakhrizadeh's death came two days before the 10th death anniversary of another prominent Iranian nuclear physicist, Majid Shahriari.
Zarif and several other high-ranking Iranian officials accused Israel of being behind the assassination, urging the international community to condemn the act. On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the crime would not go unanswered, prompting Israel to reinforce security measures in its foreign diplomatic missions.
The Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Sputnik that it would not comment on the Iranian statements regarding the Israeli alleged involvement in Fakhrizadeh's assassination.
