BAGHDAD, Iran, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- An Iranian college professor was killed Tuesday in a vehicle bombing that Tehran blamed on the United States and Israel.
It wasn't clear if Professor Massoud Ali Mohammadi, an instructor in nuclear physics at Tehran University, was linked with Iran's nuclear program. State media said Mohammadi was a "staunch" supporter of the ruling government, leading to the theory the assassination was part of on-going political unrest in Iran.
The country has been shaken by political demonstrations since the June re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tuesday's bombing, set off by remote control could be in retaliation for government supporters allegedly shooting at a vehicle of an opposition leader.
No one has admitted to carrying out the attack on the professor -- state-run media said Mohammadi was "martyred" -- but Iran's Press TV cited unnamed security officials said saying the "equipment and system of the bomb used in the attack had been related to a number of foreign intelligence agencies, particularly Israel's Mossad."
Israel and the United States have been vocal critics of Iran's nuclear program, which Baghdad insists has peaceful ends but some Western countries fear is designed to develop a nuclear weapon.
