Timeline: The Killing Of Iran’s Nuclear Scientists [Infographic]

New details have emerged about the attack that killed Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the most senior Iranian nuclear scientist to die in a spate of assassinations that Iranian officials have described as attempts to sabotage the country’s nuclear energy ambitions. It was initially thought that Fakhrizadeh was killed in an assault on his car by gunmen using automatic firearms and explosives. On Sunday evening, however, the Fars news agency reported that the scientist was actually killed by a remote-controlled weapon mounted in a car and that his attackers were not physically present at the scene. Describing the operation as “highly complex”, a senior Iranian security official said that it was carried out with “electronic devices”. Iran is blaming Israel for the attack, along with an opposition group in exile called Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.

While Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is the most senior nuclear scientist to be killed in mysterious circumstances in Iran, he is by no means the first. Tehran has blamed Israel for five such killings with the first high-profile one occurring in 2010. That incident saw Masoud Ali Mohammadi die when a bomb was detonated on a motorcycle as he left his home. In November of that year Majid Shahriar died when a motorcyclist attached a bomb to his car. Even though it is not clear whether academic Darioush Rezaeineja was connected to the nuclear program, he was shot dead by gunmen on a motorcycle in July 2011. Chemist and the director of the Natanz facility Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan became the next victim a year later. He was killed when more assailants on a motorcycle attached magnetic bombs to his car during his morning commute.

Alongside the high-profile targeting of nuclear scientists, a spate of mysterious explosions and fires have added to the chaos. These have been occurring for years with major incidents in 2011 including an explosion at nuclear facilities in Isfahan and a-c blast at a steel mill linked to the nuclear program in Yasd which killed seven people. They have been occurring with increasing frequency this year, however, with a major explosion rocking a missile-production complex in Khojir in late June while a blast and fire destroyed a building developing advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility on July 02.

Given that Fakhrizadeh’s killing has occurred after those serious events, it is almost certain to fan the flames of a covert regional conflict that has being going on between Israel and Iran for years. This has been particularly evident in Syria where Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes against Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah but also directly against Iran’s military. It has also come at a time when the entire Middle East is on edge with a presidential transition imminent in Washington. Joe Biden has pledged to return to the nuclear deal abandoned by Donald Trump but it remains unclear whether Iran will be receptive given recent events. Iran’s leadership have already promised to press on with the nuclear program and vowed to retaliate for the death of Fakhrizadeh.

*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)