Iran prepares for slain nuclear scientist’s burial

The body of Iran’s assassinated top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been taken to the first of several revered Shia Muslim shrines ahead of his burial set for Monday.

As part of the funeral procession, Fakhrizadeh‘s body arrived in the northeastern city of Mashhad and was taken to Imam Reza’s shrine, for prayers and to circle the tomb, state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

His remains will next be taken to Fatima Masumeh’s shrine in Qom, south of Tehran, and then to Imam Khomeini’s shrine in the capital, according to the Defence Ministry.

The funeral itself will be held on Monday, in the presence of high-ranking military commanders and his family, the ministry said on its website, without specifying the location.

Fakhrizadeh, 59, was killed on Friday in a car bomb and gun attack against his own vehicle outside Tehran.

Turkey condemns scientist’s killing as ‘terrorism’

Meanwhile, Turkey said that the killing of the nuclear scientist was an act of “terrorism” that “upsets peace in the region”.

“We regret the death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh following an armed attack. We condemn this heinous murder and offer our condolences to the Iranian government and the dead man’s relatives,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Turkey is against all initiatives aimed at disrupting peace in the region and against all forms of terrorism, no matter who their perpetrator or target are.”

Ankara also urged “all parties to act with common sense and restraint.”

Israel blamed for assassination

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has accused arch-foe Israel of acting as a US “mercenary” and killing Fakhrizadeh.

Israel has declined to comment on the death of Fakhrizadeh.

Rouhani has blamed the killing on “the wicked hands of the global arrogance, with the usurper Zionist regime as the mercenary”.

Iran generally uses the term “global arrogance” to refer to the United States.

The New York Times has reported an American official and two other intelligence officials confirmed Israel was behind the attack, without giving further details.

“One American official, along with two other intelligence officials, said that Israel was behind the attack on the scientist,” the Times said.

“It was unclear how much the United States may have known about the operation in advance, but the two nations are the closest of allies and have long shared intelligence regarding Iran.”

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