Iranian nuclear scientist 'killed'
11/29/2010 11:30:23 AM
An Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in one of two explosions that rocked the capital Tehran on Monday, according to state media. Three people were also injured in the blasts.
The report said that Dr. Majid Shahriari was killed and his wife was injured. Shahriari was a member of the nuclear engineering department of Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
In a separate attack, Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi and his wife were injured.
Abbasi, 52, holds a PhD in nuclear physics and did nuclear research at the defence ministry, Mashreghnews, an Iranian news website, said.
He is "one of the few specialists who can separate isotopes" and has been a "member of the Revolutionary Guards since the revolution" in 1979, added the website.
Al Jazeera's Alireza Ronaghi, reporting from Tehran, said few details are currently known about the nature of the blasts.
But he added that the victim was a colleague of another professor, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, who was killed in January in the same fashion.
Each of the attacks appear to have targeted academics.
Al Jazeera's Alireza Ronaghi said that the killing appears to "have been taking place in the same manner."
"A motorbike rider has forged the cars of both these professors, around 7:45 local time, attached a bomb to them, and ran away," our reporter said.
Our reporter added that it's unclear if the blast was carried out by foreign governments who are actively seeking to undermine Iran's nuclear programme.
