Iranian nuclear physicist killed by IRI
The sister of a leading Iranian nuclear physicist widely believed to have been assassinated by Israel as part of an effort to derail the Islamic Republic’s drive to create nuclear weapons says her brother was murdered by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRI) because he wouldn’t cooperate with the effort to divert nuclear activities from peaceful purposes.
When Iranian scientist Dr. Ardeshir Hosseinpour was killed in February 2007, the cause of death was reported to be “gassing” and most presumed the act was carried out by Israel.
That belief stood, largely because of Iranian accusations to that effect; and because of Israeli policy to neither confirm nor deny such acts.
But now, seven years later, Mahboobeh Hosseinpour has come forward with the claim that the IRI was behind her brother’s death because of his refusal to be involved in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program whose use was for atomic purposes.
If Hosseinpour’s account can be confirmed, it could have impact on the next round of between Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
Speaking to The Media Line from Turkey via Skype in a conversation arranged by the Iranian opposition group The New Iran, 52-year-old Mahboobeh Hosseinpour said that she learned through her sister-in-law, Sara Araghi, of her brother’s secret research, and particularly about a DVD which contained research and formulas for building an atomic bomb 12 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb and methods for neutralizing it.
Mahmoobeh Hosseinpour learned that her brother was contacted in November 2004 by three special agents of IRI’s Defense Department with a personal message from IRI’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, enlisting him to work on increasing IRI’s uranium enrichment capabilities for the purpose of building atomic weapons; and with a secondary goal of teaching and supervising Russian and North Korean scientists in order to accelerate the project.
Speaking about her brother, Hosseinpour said that “he was offered a two star rank in the revolutionary guard and ownership of factories,” if he agreed.
Mrs. Hossenpour told The Media Line that Israel did not kill her brother but the IRI did, allegedly because he would not co-operate with them, claiming those projects would result in serious financial damage for the people of the Iran as well as the international community.
YNET
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