Report: Mossad killed Iran nuke expert with 1-ton remote-controlled gun, took 8 months to smuggle in

Complex spy operation smuggled the weapon into Iran piece by piece over eight months; U.S. was not involved.

By World Israel News Staff

The top Iranian nuclear weapons expert who was assassinated last November was shot dead by Mossad agents using a one-ton automatic rifle smuggled into the country piece by piece, the Jewish Chronicle reported Wednesday.

The squad that eliminated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was comprised of more than 20 members from Israel and Iran who smuggled the pieces of the remote-controlled weapon over eight-months, according to intelligence sources who spoke with the British newspaper. The same sources also said that the Iranian government estimates that it will take at least six years to train someone to replace Fakhrizadeh.

Sources in Israel estimated that Fakhrizadeh’s death pushed back Iran’s breakout time to an atomic bomb from three and a half months to two years. According to senior intelligence sources, the delay could reach as long as five years even though after the assassination Iran accelerated the enrichment of uranium needed to make a bomb.

The hit squad assembled the weapon in a Nissan van and activated the gun by remote control while they were watching a moving target. The weapon had a large bomb attached to it, destroying the evidence immediately after the assassination.

“The regime was humiliated and devastated. Even the Mossad was surprised by the huge impact,” a source familiar with the operation said.

“Thank God we got all our people out and they didn’t catch anyone. They didn’t even come close,” the source added. “Their security was not bad at all, but the Mossad was much better. It was a major thing that happened, a dramatic operation.”

The report said international intelligence sources gave Israel sole responsibility for the attack and American officials were only given a “small hint, like checking the water temperature” before the assassination was launched.

However, other sources believe that the U.S. was a partner in the assassination, albeit to a relatively small extent, in order to get then-President Donald Trump to leave a mark. Other sources attributed the success of the operation to Iranian security forces assigning resources to pursue opponents to the regime.

“The Mossad had documents proving that Fakhrizadeh had worked on several nuclear warheads, each one able to cause five Hiroshimas,” Jacob Nagel, former deputy head of the National Security Council, told the Chronicle. “He was serious. He still meant to do what he planned. So someone decided that he had had enough time on earth.”

The description in the paper’s report is consistent with some of the versions provided by the Iranians regarding the assassination. According to Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi, the assassination was carried out by “automatic weapons” and one of its organizers was an Iranian military man.

Alawi claimed earlier this week that the planner’s military expertise prevented intelligence services from uncovering the conspiracy, as they were banned from spying on military personnel and operating in its ranks.

Fahrizada, 59, was killed when he left his holiday home near Tehran, where he was staying with his wife, who was not injured in the incident. Although he was traveling in an armored vehicle, accompanied by security guards, the assassins managed to eliminate him in an ambush at a central junction on the road leading to the Iranian capital.

The assassination led to accusations by senior regime officials in Iran against Israel and threats of retaliation.