Iranian scientist assassinated

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, whom Israel suspected was the leader of Iran’s disbanded military nuclear program, died on Friday in an ambush outside of Tehran. The scientist led a program that the International Atomic Energy Agency linked to “activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device” through the end of 2003. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mentioned Fakhrizadeh in conjunction with Iran’s nuclear program in the past.

What happened? Iranian state television reported an old truck hiding explosives blew up near a sedan carrying Fakhrizadeh. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said there were “serious indications” Israel was involved and called it an act of “state terror” but didn’t give any explanation. During Fakhrizadeh's funeral on Monday, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, said Israel used "electronic devices" to remotely kill him. Israeli authorities declined to comment, and no one has claimed responsibility.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s Globe Trot report about Iran’s arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles in Iraq.

Editor's note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.