BICOM

Darioush Rezaie, 35, an Iranian physics professor involved in the country’s nuclear programme, was shot dead in front of his home in Bani Hashem Street in Teheran on Saturday (23/7). The shooting was carried out by gunmen on a motorcycle. Rezaie’s wife was also lightly wounded in the incident. Iranian media initially reported that the man killed was a student with the same name as the professor, but later reports confirmed Rezaie’s death. Iranian officials accused Israel and the United States of involvement in the killing. Defence Minister Ehud Barak offered no response on the subject when quizzed by reporters yesterday. A number of other Iranian scientists involved in the nuclear programme have died in mysterious circumstances in recent years. The last such attacks took place in November, when bomb attacks in Teheran killed one nuclear scientist and wounded another. The wounded man, Fereidoun Abbasi, has since been named head of Iran’s nuclear agency.

Rezaie’s field of expertise – neutron transport – is a vital aspect of producing nuclear chain reactions, in nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons. Despite the deaths of a number of scientists, the Iranian nuclear programme is proceeding apace. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Iran is stepping up centrifuge development work aimed at making its nuclear enrichment more efficient. Two newer and more advanced models of the machine currently used to refine uranium are being installed for large-scale testing at the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. These advanced centrifuges have three times the enrichment output when compared to the IR-1 centrifuge currently used. Iran’s policy of non-cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), meanwhile, remains in place.

The Iranian missile programme, a vital component of Teheran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme, is also moving ahead. Iran continues to maintain that its nuclear programme is intended for ‘purely peaceful purposes.’