Scientist assassination won’t affect Iran's resolve to back resistance front: Defense minister

“Undoubtedly, the terrorist act of the enemy will not affect the goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We will continue the scientific path of Martyr Fakhrizadeh in the fields of nuclear and defense with strength,” Hatami said in an interview with Iran Press.

“We will support the axis of resistance and the resistance fighters in Syria and Iraq, as well as the governments, nations, and the Armed Forces, so that we can eradicate terrorism in the region,” he added.

“This is a serious determination and it will definitely happen,” Hatami stressed.

Fakhrizadeh, the head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, was targeted in a terrorist attack by a number of assailants in the town of Absard, Tehran Province’s Damavand County, on November 27.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday satellite equipment was used in the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist.

Speaking in a commemoration ceremony for the assassinated Iranian scientist, IRGC’s spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said, “Advanced electronic instruments guided by satellite were used in the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh,” according to Press TV.

On Wednesday, the Iranian administration said the Intelligence Ministry had identified the individuals involved in the assassination.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said the assassination by ‘Zionist elements’ was a grave and inhumane crime aimed at curbing the Iranian march toward scientific progress.

The terrorist act has drawn condemnations from many countries and international organizations.

Fakhrizadeh’s name was mentioned multiple times in a presentation in 2018 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he repeated baseless claims about the Iranian nuclear program.

Netanyahu described the scientist as the director of Iran’s nuclear program and threatened, “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.”

The Israeli regime has made several attempts over the past years to throw a wrench in Tehran’s peaceful nuclear work.

The regime has been behind the assassination of several Iranian nuclear scientists. It has also conduced cyberattacks on Iranian nuclear sites.