Israel Matzav

Iranian nuclear scientist's home searched a day before he was killed

In January, Iranian nuclear scientist Masoud Ali Mohammadi was killed when a bomb hidden in a motorcycle went off outside his home. At the time, the Iranian regime claimed that Mohammadi hasbeen killed by the United States and Israel, although it was already known that he was a supporter of opposition candidate Mir Houssein Mossavi.

A month later it came out that Mohammadi was an important cog in Iran's nuclear program, and it is possible that someone in the West wished him dead.

Now, as part of a much longer article about defenctions from Iran's nuclear program, the Washington Post discloses that Mohammadi's home was searched by Iranian intelligence agents the day before Mohammadi was killed, making it appear much more likely that the Ahmadinejad regime itself murdered Mohammadi.

Some observers say the Tehran government has been unnerved by the defections and point to the death of an Iranian physics professor more than three months ago as a sign that it has begun a crackdown designed to frighten would-be spies.

The professor, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, was killed Jan. 12 when a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded as he passed nearby. Iranian officials accused Israeli and Western intelligence operatives in the killing, but news accounts indicated that Mohammadi had been sympathetic to the opposition movement and had attended anti-government demonstrations. The day before his death, Iranian intelligence agents had searched his home and confiscated documents and notes, according to a report by the NCRI [National Council of Resistance in Iran].

Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:38 AM