In comments at a press conference on Tuesday, Ali Rabiee said the assassination of eminent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has failed to undermine the Iranian nation’s determination to resist the enemy.
“Terrorists will definitely not be able to achieve their objectives,” he said, adding, “Our nuclear and defense know-how cannot be subjected to terror, nor is it reversible.”
“Our people were not only not affected by the psychological dimensions of the assassination… but they became more vigilant and more united in safeguarding national interests against their real enemies,” the spokesman said.
Rabiee also said the assassination pursued multiple objectives.
“The act of terror was aimed at disrupting the psychological tranquility of the society, discouraging people from achieving victory and tackling the ‘maximum pressure’ policy, creating confusion in Iran’s strategy, forcing Iran to play in the enemy’s court, and finally disrupt regional security and remove rays of hope for peace and calm,” he said, the government’s website reported.
Rabiee underlined that terrorists also would like to disrupt international security as potential upcoming changes will create an opportunity for the Iranian nation to reclaim its rights.
Terrorists are well aware that they cannot put the brakes on Iran’s scientific progress, are unable to keep Iran from playing an effective role in ensuring peace and security and cannot keep Iran from enjoying peaceful nuclear technology, so they carried out that act of terror, the spokesman deplored.
Fakhrizadeh, a senior nuclear and defense scientist, was assassinated by unknown gunmen in a small city east of Tehran on Friday evening.
In a message after the incident, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called on all relevant administrators to “investigate this crime and firmly prosecute its perpetrators and its commanders” and “to continue the martyr’s scientific and technological efforts in all the sectors where he was active.”