FILE PHOTO: A security car passes in front of the Natanz nuclear facility 300 km south of Tehran, November 20, 2004 ReutersWestern officials and experts believe Fakhrizadeh played a pivotal role in suspected Iranian work to develop the means to assemble a nuclear warheadProminent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in an attack outside Tehran on Friday, was widely seen outside the country as a leading figure in the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. Western officials and experts believe Fakhrizadeh played a pivotal role in suspected Iranian work in the past to develop the means to assemble a nuclear warhead behind the facade of a declared civilian uranium enrichment program. Iran denies ever having sought to develop a nuclear weapon. Believed to be a senior officer in the elite Revolutionary Guards, Fakhrizadeh was the only Iranian the report identified. He was also named in a 2007 UN resolution on Iran as a person involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 27, 2020 15:33 UTC