Saudi Arabia denies involvement in Iranian nuclear scientist's assassination

Saudi Arabia denied any role in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Tuesday, December 1. Responding to the allegation by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who claimed that the murder of the scientist was a Saudi Arabia-United States-Israel plot, Saudi's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said it is not the policy of the Arab Kingdom to engage in assassinations.

Taking to Twitter al-Jubeir wrote, "It is not the policy of Saudi Arabia to engage in assasinations; unlike Iran, which has done so since the Khomeini Revolution in 1979. Ask us, and ask many other countries who have lost many of their citizens due to Iran’s criminal and illegal behavior!"

He further slammed that Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif for his desperate attempts to blame the Kingdom for anything negative that happens in Iran. Since early 2016, Saudi Arabia has cut off its diplomatic ties with Iran after the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked by the Iranians protesting against the Saudi execution of 47 individuals on terrorism charges, including Saudi Shiite cleric Namir al-Namir.

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Scientist killed in Tehran by armed terrorists

On Friday the Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed near the Iranian capital Tehran by armed terrorists, the Iranian Ministry of Defense informed. The incident in Iran not only ignited tensions in the region but Tehran also placed the blame of the murder on Israel with Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei demanding "definitive punishment".

Moreover, Iran in a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UNSC claimed there were "serious indications of Israeli responsibility" and announced that the country would be looking to defend itself. While taking to Twitter, Zarif called on the international community and asked them to condemn the act and end the "state terror". 

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(Image Credits-AP)