Tehran: A top Iranian security official on Monday accused Israel of using "electronic devices" to remotely kill a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic's military nuclear program in the 2000s.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council, commented at the funeral for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, where Iran's defence minister separately vowed to continue the man's work "with more speed and more power."
Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has declined to comment on the attack.
Read:| Iran scientist linked to military nuclear program killed
Fakhrizadeh headed Iran's so-called AMAD program, which Israel and the West have alleged was a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that "structured program" ended in 2003. U.S. intelligence agencies concurred with that assessment in a 2007 report.
Israel insists Iran still maintains the ambition of developing nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehran's ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful.
Shamkhani's remarks drastically change the story of Fakhrizadeh's killing Friday. Authorities initially said a truck exploded and then gunmen opened fire on the scientist, killing him.
State TV's English-language Press TV earlier reported a weapon recovered from the scene of the attack bore "the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry." State TV's Arabic-language channel, Al-Alam, claimed the weapons used were "controlled by satellite," a claim also made Sunday by the semiofficial Fars news agency.
Read:| Iran bill to boost nuke activity after scientist assassination
None of the outlets immediately offered evidence supporting their claims.
"Unfortunately, the operation was a very complicated operation and was carried out by using electronic devices," Shamkhani told state TV.
"No individual was present at the site," he added.
AP
