IAEA behind scientist's slaying, Iran says

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TEHRAN, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency is held responsible for the death of an Iranian scientist, a top Iranian judicial official said in Tehran.

Iranian physics professor Majid Shahriari was killed during a bomb attack in November. His counterpart Fereydoun Abbasi was injured in a separate attack.

Both men were working at Shahid Beheshti University in North Tehran.

Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, Iran's top judicial official, said Tehran blamed the IAEA for the assassination of Shahriari.

"We hold the IAEA responsible … because it has disclosed the names of our scientists, putting them in serious danger," he was quoted by Mehr News Agency as saying.

He added that the perpetrators of the assassination were opposed to "Iran going nuclear."

His comments came as Atomic Energy Organization chief Ali Akbar Salehi told Press TV that Iran will no longer have to import uranium and will now mine and process it within its own borders to create nuclear power.

"Iran will witness no problem for yellow cake supplies anymore," he said.

The yellow cake was produced from uranium ore extracted from the Gachin mine in Bandar Abbas, in the south of the country and will be converted into uranium hexafluoride for enrichment.