"America's spying and intelligence agents from one side abduct some
Iranian citizens and on the other side their treacherous agents kill an
Iranian citizen inside the country," the Iranian Cabinet said.
Later, Iranian prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed the death of
the 50-year-old Mohammadi, identified as a nuclear physics professor at
Teheran University. Dolatabadi said nobody has yet been arrested.
"Since Ali Mohammadi was one of the scientists of physics and nuclear
energy, most probably intelligence services and elements of the Mossad and
CIA had a hand in his assassination," Dolatabadi said.
Officials did not describe Mohammadi's role in Iran's nuclear program
but said he was not an employee of the Atomic Energy Organization. They said
Israel and the United States have been identifying key staffers in Iran's
missile and nuclear program.
"Such terrorist acts and the apparent elimination of the country's
nuclear scientists will definitely not obstruct scientific and technological
processes," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
Mohammadi was also said to have signed an Internet petition that
supported opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein
Mousavi. In 2002, Mohammadi participated in a United Nations project, titled
SESAME, that included Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Morocco.
"We did not discuss politics or nuclear issues, as our project is not
connected to nuclear physics," Israeli representative to the UN project,
Eliezer Rabinovich, told the Washington Post.