Reactions pour in to assassination of prominent nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh east of Tehran on Friday.
Regional Condemnations
Hezbollah Deputy Chief Sheikh Naim Qassem offered condolences to the Iranian nation on the martyrdom of Fakhrizadeh, stressing that the issue of retaliation is to be decided by the Iranian leadership itself.
In an interview with Al-Manar on Friday, Sheikh Qassem offered condolences to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Iranian Defense Ministry and the Iranian people on th martyrdom of the prominent scientist.
He said Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in an attack perpetrated by US-Israeli agents,noting that the attack is part of the war on Iran and the free people of this nation.
“We denounce this flagrant aggression and we consider that the retaliation to this crime is to be decidedby the Iranian leadership,” Sheikh Qassem told Al-Manar, stressing that “assassinations can’t undermine our will.”
For its part, Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement offered condolences to the Iranian nation on the scientist’s martyrdom and said the Islamic Republic reserves the right to punish the perpetrators of the terror attack.
In a statement, Ansarullah’s Political Bureau said assassinating such high-profile scientists serves to deal a blow to the entire Muslim world’s capabilities and scientific experience.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad Palestinian movements denounced the attack, describing it as flagrant, pointing the finger at the Israeli regime.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command (PFLP-GC), likewise slammed Fakhrizadeh’s assassination.
International Stances
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for self-restraint “in a bid to avoid any escalation” following the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.
Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John O. Brennan described the assassination of the Iranian scientist as “an act of state-sponsored terrorism” that could ignite a new round of conflict in the region.
In a series of tweets on Friday, he called on Iranian leaders to “be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits.”
For his part, senior Swedish politician Carl Bildt suggested that the assassination could be part of plots to block the incoming administration of US president-elect Joe Biden from re-engaging in diplomacy with Iran.
“It’s not unlikely that this targeted killing was part of efforts to prevent the Biden administration from reviving diplomacy with Iran and going back to the nuclear agreement,” the ex-Swedish premier said in a tweet.
Source: Al-Manar English Website and Iranian media
