Earlier in the day, reports emerged in Iranian media that a high-profile nuclear physicist had been assassinated in the north of Iran.
The Iranian Defence Ministry has confirmed earlier media reports that a high-ranking nuclear physicist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, has been killed. In a press release, the ministry says they are treating Fakhrizadeh's assassination as a terror attack.
Iran's Defence Minister, Amir Hatami, said on Twitter that the nuclear physicist's death shows how very deeply Iran's enemies hate its citizens.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has suggested Israel could be involved in the killing; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has refused to comment on the matter.
Conflicting Reports About the Assassination
The news about the scientist's killing was first run by Rajanews website that reported earlier on Friday the scientist had been assassinated in the city of Absard in Iran's Damavand County.
The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran was quick to reject the report of the nuclear physicist's killing, according to the news agency ISNA. The spokesperson for the organisation stated that all scientists in the country's nuclear industry were safe and in good health.
At the same time, Iranian social media users shared photos and videos from the alleged scene of the assassination, claiming they heard an explosion and a barrage of fire in the area.
Iran Revolutionary Guards…
