1 of 4 | An undated Handout picture released from Fars news agency shows Iranian university professor Massoud Ali Mohammad, who was killed on January 12, 2010 in a remote-controlled bomb blast outside his residence in Tehran, Iran. UPI/HO |
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TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Iranian authorities were quick to come out with claims that U.S. and Israeli players were behind the assassination of a Tehran University professor Tuesday.
Massoud Ali Mohammadi, a professor at Tehran University, was assassinated Tuesday in front of his home in the Iranian capital. Reports vary on the cause of the detonation that killed the professor. Western media outlets said he was killed by a remote-controlled bomb, while Iran's Press TV quotes senior officials saying he was killed by a "booby-trapped" motorcycle.
Ramin Mehman Parast, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister, said Tuesday it was obvious U.S. and Israeli hands were behind the assassination, Press TV reports.
"Primary investigations into the assassination revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime, the U.S. and their allies in Iran," he said.
The U.S. State Department issued a response, calling the claims "absurd."
Reports vary on the role Mohammadi played in Iranian politics and the country's controversial nuclear energy program. The BBC and other outlets said Mohammadi was allied with Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, while Press TV described him as a "staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution."
It was also unclear what role he played in the nuclear energy program, with some outlets describing the scientist as a specialist in quantum physics and others saying he was linked closer to nuclear studies.
Iran has been on edge since political unrest greeted the contested outcome of June presidential elections. Tehran, meanwhile, blamed Saudi Arabia for the June arrest of Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist, saying Riyadh handed him over to U.S. authorities.
