Report: Iran Suspects Israel Poisoned 2 Scientists
Iran suspects that two of its scientists, Ayoob Entezari and Kamran Aghamolaei, who died recently in separate incidents were victims of targeted killings, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Sources connected to government bodies shared the information with The Times source.
Entezari, 35, became sick after attending a dinner party in the city of Yazd and died on May 31. He was reportedly employed at a research and development center in Yazd, where he was said to have worked on developing missiles and drones.
The area’s governor sent his family a letter calling him a “martyr,” indicating that he had been killed by an enemy or while serving the country, and a picture reportedly showed local officials paying a condolence visit to his home. The province later said the use of the term was a mistake.
Authorities denied that Entezari was an aerospace engineer, but his university backed that information, The Times report said.
Aghamolaei’s background is even more sketchy. After a business trip in the city of Tabriz, the 31-year-old geologist went to Tehran, then became sick with severe nausea and diarrhea. His organs failed and he died on June 2, the report said, citing information from one of his friends.
Tehran’s Tarbiat Modares University, where he was a doctoral student, put out a statement saying he had died of a heart attack. There have been no other official statements.
Hebrew media and some Persian news outlets based outside Iran said Aghamolaei worked at the Natanz nuclear facility, which his friends denied, The Times reported.
Iran said Monday that all measures it has taken to roll back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are “reversible” if a new agreement is finalized.
To Read The Full Story
Are you already a subscriber?
Click "Sign In" to log in!
Become a Web Subscriber
Click “Subscribe” below to begin the process of becoming a new subscriber.
Become a Print + Web Subscriber
Click “Subscribe” below to begin the process of becoming a new subscriber.
Renew Print + Web Subscription
Click “Renew Subscription” below to begin the process of renewing your subscription.