Iran held a funeral service Monday for nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, whose killing Friday has drawn threats of retaliation from Iranian leaders.
Defense Miniser Gen. Amir Hatami said at the service held at Iran’s Defense Ministry in Tehran that Fakhrizadeh’s death would make Iranians more united and determined, and that the country would continue his work “with more speed and more power.”
Gunmen attacked Fakhrizadeh’s car Friday as he was traveling near the rural town of Absard.
Iran blamed the killing on Israel. Israeli intelligence minister Eli Cohen told an Israeli radio station Monday that he did not know who was responsible.
In response to the attack, Iran’s parliament began reviewing a bill that would halt inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The developments come less than two months before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office with a stated goal of rejoining the 2015 agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
That agreement, signed between Iran and a group of six world powers, was meant to ensure Iran could not develop nuclear weapons. Iran has insisted its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
