Iran: Slain Man Not Nuclear Scientist
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Iranian authorities now say the victim of a deadly shooting in Tehran was a university student — not a physicist involved in Iran’s nuclear program, as initially reported by state-run media.
English-language Iranian Press TV said a mix-up over the victim’s name apparently led to the confusion.
Despite that report, parliament speaker Ali Larijani blamed the death of an Iranian scientist on the United States and Israel, condemning it as a “terrorist action” in remarks broadcast on national television on July 24.
Initial reports on July 23 said gunmen firing from motorcycles had killed Darioush Rezaei, 35, a physics professor whose reported area of expertise was neutron transport. Several news reports linked him to Iran’s nuclear program.
But later reports said investigators had determined that the slain man was Darioush Rezaeinejad, an electronics student at Tehran’s Khajeh Nasir University.
The Iranian regime has previously blamed the United States and Israel for attacks targeting Iranian scientists.
The West accuses Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability under the cover of its civilian atomic energy program. Iran denies the allegation.
