After an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed by a booby-trapped motorbike outside his home in north Tehran, the Islamic regime is spreading the blame -- pointing variously to "Zionists," "mercenaries" and an obscure monarchist group.
According Iranian state news reports, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a physics instructor at the University of Tehran, was killed when a bomb attached to a parked motorcycle detonated outside his home.
In a statement carried by Iran's Press TV, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said: "Primary investigations into the assassination revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime [Israel], the U.S. and their allies in Iran."
State-controlled media also pointed to a claim of responsibility from a group called the Royal Association of Iran, which Press TV described as an "obscure monarchist group that seeks to reestablish the Pahlavi reign in Iran," a reference to the royal family of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ousted by the Islamic Revolution in 1979. According to Press TV, the group said a statement that its "Tondar Commandos" were behind the assassination of Ali-Mohammadi; Press TV described the slain physicist as "a non-political person."
Not so, say members of Iran's domestic opposition. A statement on the Facebook page of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said that Ali-Mohammadi was on a list of the university professors who supported Mousavi in the elections.
Curiouser and curiouser. Regardless of who is responsible -- and I wouldn't hold my breath for an answer -- this murder in Tehran shows how Iran's domestic political turmoil has become intertwined with the country's nuclear standoff. It's not clear if the professor was involved in Iran's controversial enrichment program (he is not, for instance, on a U.N. list of individuals suspected of involvement in clandestine weapons activity). But his profession, and the conflicting claims of responsibility for his death, points to possible domestic political intrigue over the nuclear issue.
A partial news blackout further complicates matters. Mousavi's supporters, for instance, describe official news outlets like Fars News Agency as "coup news agencies" that are planting false stories to blacken the opposition. None of the websites related to the Royal Association of Iran, they say, claimed responsibility for Ali-Mohammadi's death. And they point to another opposition website, which published an announcement by the monarchist group claiming the assassination was orchestrated by Iran's secret service.
And Iranian news agencies -- who can't resist a spicy merc story -- see hidden U.S. involvement in all this domestic turmoil. The U.S. government rejects that claim as absurd. (Note to Jeremy Scahill: Ever consider a Farsi edition?)
Complicated enough? Iranian officials and news agencies also continue to press claims that Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist, was abducted by the United States or its proxies while on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia.
[PHOTO: Mehr News Agency via CNN]
See Also:
- Web Attacks Expand in Iran's Cyber Battle (Updated Again)
- Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime
- Iran Launches Airstrikes on Iraqi Villages
- Iran Activists Get Assist from 'Anonymous,' Pirate Bay
- On 'Bloody Ashura,' Iran's Wired Opposition Hits Refresh
- Iran Wants 10 More Nuke Sites
- Iran Reporting = MSM Fail?
- Does Iran Have a Secret Nuke Weapons Network?
