IRGC Commander: Scientific Independence Source of National Might

"If a country's scientific reserves grow, so will the society. While political, economic, or cultural aspects are mostly considered as the factors for nations' independence, scientific independence is the source of a nation's authority," Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of Noor Genetics Center of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences on Monday.

"We have enemies who‌ always try to keep us trivial and weak because a country that is far behind will be weak and forced to surrender," he said, adding, "But if a country comes out of foreign scientific dominance and produces basic needs domestically, it will be alive and grow even if it is under a global siege."

"When a person is assassinated for marching in the scientific arena, it means that the enemy has targeted our scientific growth and might, and everywhere that the enemy has focused on is our strong point," the IRGC commander reiterated.

Salami described the Noor Genetics Center as one of the IRGC’s great achievements, noting, "When we are able to decipher the human genetic map, we will do treatment easier and more accurately, so we should not lag behind the world."

He emphasized that the efforts of Iranians can turn the threat of the enemies into an arena of growth and development.

In relevant remarks last month, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) underlined that the country's nuclear scientists will continue their breakthroughs in the field, and said that the assassination of top researchers will not prevent them from making progress.

"Scientists in the nuclear industry, based on the measures and strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue the path of the country's authority with strength," the AEOI tweeted.

It pointed out that the month of November is a reminder of the heinous act of the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in assassinating Majid Shahriari, the theorist and the founder of 20 percent enrichment of Iran's nuclear industry.

Majid Shahriari was Professor of Nuclear Science and Technology at the Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran and was assassinated on November 29, 2010, in a terrorist operation carried out by the US and Israeli agents.

"Martyr Shahriari, with his indescribable knowledge and faith, had brought despair to the ill-wishers of Iran," the AEOI added.

In a relevant development on Friday November 27, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh came under attack by terrorists in the town of Absar in Damavand county to the East of Tehran Friday afternoon and was martyred hours later. 

Fakhrizadeh's car was targeted by an explosion and machinegun fire in Damavand's Absard 40 kilometers to the East of Tehran on Friday November 27.

The nuclear scientist and one of his companions were immediately taken to a nearby hospital but he could not be saved.

Eyewitness accounts confirmed that Fakhrizadeh's car came under attack first by a blast and then by terrorists who sprayed bullets at his car.

Early in 2018, the Israeli sources had acknowledged that Mossad had tried to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but its operation failed. 

According to Fars News Agency, Mossad had gained access to Fakhrizadeh's name via a UN list which referred to him as a senior scientist of Iran's Defense Ministry's Physics Research Center.

After the terrorist attack on Friday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami underlined that assassination of Fakhrizadeh may not undermine Iranians' resolve, and said revenge for the terror attack is already on the country's agenda.

General Salami extended condolences to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, martyr Fakhrizadeh's family, and the Iranian nation over the martyrdom of Head of the Research and Innovation Organization of Iran's Defense Ministry, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in an organized and pre-planned terrorist attack by the child-killing Israeli regime.

"The enemies of the Iranian nation, specially the masterminds, perpetrators and supporters of this crime, should also know that such crimes will not undermine the resolve of the Iranians to continue this glorious and power-generating path, and harsh revenge and punishment is on agenda for them," the IRGC chief commander stressed.

Iranian nuclear scientists have been the target of the western and Israeli spy agencies' assassination attempts in recent years.

In June 2012, Iran announced that its intelligence forces had identified and arrested all terrorist elements behind the assassination of the country's nuclear scientists.

"All the elements involved in the assassinations of the country's nuclear scientists have been identified and arrested," Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced in a statement.

"A number of countries, whose territories and facilities had been misused by the Mossad-backed terrorist teams, have provided the Iranian officials with relevant information," the statement added.

"Over the course of the investigations, all other elements behind the assassinations of the Iranian scientists Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan as well as Reza Qashqaei (Roshan's driver) have been apprehended," the statement read.

"Some of the perpetrators of the assassination of Dr. Fereidoun Abbasi, the current head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, are among those arrested," the ministry added.

According to the statement, Iran's Intelligence Ministry had detected some of Mossad's bases within the territories of one of Iran's Western neighbors, which provided training and logistical support to the terrorist networks.

In the fifth attack of its kind in two years, terrorists killed a 32-year-old Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and his driver on January 11, 2012.

The blast took place on the second anniversary of the martyrdom of Iranian university professor and nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, who was also assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack in Tehran in January 2010.

The assassination method used in the bombing was similar to the 2010 terrorist bomb attacks against the then university professor, Fereidoun Abbassi Davani – who became the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization - and his colleague Majid Shahriari. While Abbasi Davani survived the attack, Shahriari was martyred.

Another Iranian scientist, Dariush Rezaeinejad, was also assassinated through the same method on 23 July 2011.

In a relevant development in January, 2015, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had thwarted an attempt by the Israeli intelligence forces to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist.

“In the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was trying hard to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely presence of the IRGC security forces thwarted the terrorist operation,” Deputy Chief Liaison Officer of Flight Guards Corps Colonel Ya’qoub Baqeri told FNA in 2015.