Tehran: Assassination work of 'Zionists'

TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran was the work of the Zionist enemies of the Islamic republic, a security official said.

Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, which Sharif University in Tehran identified as a commerce official at the Natanz nuclear facility, was killed Wednesday in a car bomb attack in north Tehran.

Officials said a motorcycle rider attached a magnetic bomb to the vehicle carrying Roshan and one other person.

Safar Ali Baratlou, a security chief in Tehran, told the semiofficial Fars News Agency the attack was the work of the Israelis.

"Zionists seem to be trying to create a security atmosphere in Iran on the threshold of (parliamentary) elections to decrease the people's turnout in the polls" in March, he maintained.

Massoud Ali Mohammadi, an Iranian physics professor at Tehran University, was killed when a bomb denoted in front of his home as he left for work in January 2010. Tehran one year later said it found evidence Mossad, the Israeli spy agency, was operating a spy ring in the country.

The incident comes amid claims Iran is moving closer to developing a nuclear weapon despite Tehran's insistence its work is for peaceful purposes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Iran's decision to start enrichment activity at its Qom nuclear facility. If Iran is becoming more isolated because of its nuclear work, she said, it's self-inflicted.

"Such enrichment brings Iran a significant step closer to having the capability to produce weapons-grade highly enriched uranium," she warned.