Mostafa Ahmadi-Rowshan was on his way to a ceremony on Wednesday commemorating the second anniversary of the death of one of his colleagues, nuclear physicist , who had been assassinated by a remote-controlled explosive outside his home. As his sedan drove down in Tehran’s morning rush hour traffic, two assailants riding on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to his car. A few seconds later, it detonated, killing the 32-year old scientist and his driver and sending shock waves across the country.
Rowshan was indeed involved in Iran’s nuclear program. He was the deputy director of the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and led its procurements department. He had previously worked at the Iran’s covert centrifuge research and development center in Kalaye Electric Company. Iran’s past history of concealment and defiance has fueled international concerns about the country’s intent to acquire nuclear weapons. Uranium enrichment, an activity that can fuel both reactors and weapons, is at the crux of Iran’s nuclear crisis. But Rowshan’s scientific credentials and affiliation with Iran’s atomic energy organization do not provide justification for his abhorrent killing.
Although the Iranian regime has blamed the United States and Israel for the “heinous act,” whoever perpetrated this murder was no friend of the U.S. This mishap occurred in the wake of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s call on Iran “to return to negotiations with the P5+1,” the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. The statement deplored Tehran’s decision to start uranium enrichment at a bunker facility in Fordow, but it reiterated that the goal of U.S. policy is “reaching a comprehensive, negotiated solution that restores confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.” The assassination clearly undermines this objective.
vaez fergunson inset photo.jpgMostafa Ahmadi-Rowshan with his son / Farsnews
Notwithstanding Secretary Clinton’s immediate reaction to the assassination by categorically denying “any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran,” Tehran blamed the bombing on “America and the criminal Zionist regime.”
(Read more)
This isn’t the most reliable source, as it may be under Iranian government influence, but it’s easy to imagine this happening when people are threatened by a secretive, powerful enemy:
Over 1000 students apply to change major to nuclear physics, engineering
TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (MNA) – A number of students at the Sharif University of Technology have announced their readiness to work in the nuclear industry promising to rob the enemies of sleep, Mehrdad Bazrpash, an official at the university, said on Monday.
The news came five days after Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, a graduate of Sharif university in chemical engineering and an official at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, was assassinated in Tehran. (Read more)