Who benefits?
The hardliners have accused Israel, the U.S., and an obscure monarchist group for the assassination. The monarchist group rejected the accusation. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that any opposition group carried out his murder. The hardliners may have hoped to distract people by claiming that the assassination was the work of the “enemy,” therefore shifting their attention away from the more colossal problems facing the country.
There is also precedence for the assassination of leading figures in Iran’s nuclear program and missile industry. In July 2001, Col. Ali Mahmoudi Mimand, known as the father of Iran’s missile program, was found dead in his office; he had been shot in the head. Dr. Ardeshir Hassanpour, a prominent and award-winning figure in Iran’s nuclear program, was murdered on January 15, 2007. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel’s Mossad had murdered Dr. Hassanpour.
In fact, Professor Ali-Mohammadi went to Jordan last summer as Iran’s representative to the Synchrotron Radiation Center, an atomic research center undoubtedly on the Israeli’s radar. Unlike Ali-Mohammadi however, the other two who were assassinated were leading Iran’s efforts in important areas. But Professor Ali- Mohammadi was apparently not involved with Iran’s nuclear program at all. His research was in the general area of particle physics, which is of a fundamental, rather than practical nature. He was also not affiliated with the IRGC-co… >>>
