Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the Iranian nuclear scientist killed in Tehran on January 11, with his son, Alireza. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Aug 15, 2012
Several Iranian families have filed a lawsuit against Israel, the US and Britain, accusing them of involvement in the assassination of their relatives, including the killing of five nuclear scientists since 2010.
In the most recent killing last January, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, the deputy head of Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, was blown up by a magnetic bomb attached to his car door on his way to work. He was 32 and married with a young son.
According to the plaintiffs as well as the Iranian government, the string of killings targeted at Iranian nuclear scientists are directly tied to a covert campaign by Israel and the West to sabotage Iran's nuclear power program. The families are now demanding that Iran's judiciary pursue their complaint through international bodies.
"Through this complaint, we declare to the world that actions of arrogant governments, led by the U.S., Britain and the occupying Zionist regime, in assassinating nuclear scientists and elites is against human principles," according to a statement read out by Mansoureh Karami, wife of slain Tehran University physics professor Masoud Ali Mohammadi.
Iranian officials maintain that the covert campaign against Iran has included the assassinations and abductions of Iranian scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt in 2010.
After the murder of Roshan in January, Glenn Greenwald wrote of the events:
Does anyone doubt that some combination of the two nations completely obsessed with Iran's nuclear program -- Israel and the U.S. -- are responsible? (U.S. officials deny involvement while pointing the finger at Israel, whose officials will not comment but "smile" when asked; the CIA has "targeted" Iran's scientists in the past, several of whom have disappeared only to end up in U.S. custody, including one who "resurfaced in the United States after defecting to the CIA in return for a large sum of money"). At the very least, there has been no denunciation from any Obama officials of whoever it might be carrying out such acts.[...]
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Several Iranian families have filed a lawsuit against Israel, the US and Britain, accusing them of involvement in the assassination of their relatives, including the killing of five nuclear scientists since 2010.
In the most recent killing last January, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, the deputy head of Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, was blown up by a magnetic bomb attached to his car door on his way to work. He was 32 and married with a young son.
According to the plaintiffs as well as the Iranian government, the string of killings targeted at Iranian nuclear scientists are directly tied to a covert campaign by Israel and the West to sabotage Iran's nuclear power program. The families are now demanding that Iran's judiciary pursue their complaint through international bodies.
"Through this complaint, we declare to the world that actions of arrogant governments, led by the U.S., Britain and the occupying Zionist regime, in assassinating nuclear scientists and elites is against human principles," according to a statement read out by Mansoureh Karami, wife of slain Tehran University physics professor Masoud Ali Mohammadi.
Iranian officials maintain that the covert campaign against Iran has included the assassinations and abductions of Iranian scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt in 2010.
After the murder of Roshan in January, Glenn Greenwald wrote of the events:
Does anyone doubt that some combination of the two nations completely obsessed with Iran's nuclear program -- Israel and the U.S. -- are responsible? (U.S. officials deny involvement while pointing the finger at Israel, whose officials will not comment but "smile" when asked; the CIA has "targeted" Iran's scientists in the past, several of whom have disappeared only to end up in U.S. custody, including one who "resurfaced in the United States after defecting to the CIA in return for a large sum of money"). At the very least, there has been no denunciation from any Obama officials of whoever it might be carrying out such acts.[...]
Several Iranian families have filed a lawsuit against Israel, the US and Britain, accusing them of involvement in the assassination of their relatives, including the killing of five nuclear scientists since 2010.
In the most recent killing last January, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, the deputy head of Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, was blown up by a magnetic bomb attached to his car door on his way to work. He was 32 and married with a young son.
According to the plaintiffs as well as the Iranian government, the string of killings targeted at Iranian nuclear scientists are directly tied to a covert campaign by Israel and the West to sabotage Iran's nuclear power program. The families are now demanding that Iran's judiciary pursue their complaint through international bodies.
"Through this complaint, we declare to the world that actions of arrogant governments, led by the U.S., Britain and the occupying Zionist regime, in assassinating nuclear scientists and elites is against human principles," according to a statement read out by Mansoureh Karami, wife of slain Tehran University physics professor Masoud Ali Mohammadi.
Iranian officials maintain that the covert campaign against Iran has included the assassinations and abductions of Iranian scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt in 2010.
After the murder of Roshan in January, Glenn Greenwald wrote of the events:
Does anyone doubt that some combination of the two nations completely obsessed with Iran's nuclear program -- Israel and the U.S. -- are responsible? (U.S. officials deny involvement while pointing the finger at Israel, whose officials will not comment but "smile" when asked; the CIA has "targeted" Iran's scientists in the past, several of whom have disappeared only to end up in U.S. custody, including one who "resurfaced in the United States after defecting to the CIA in return for a large sum of money"). At the very least, there has been no denunciation from any Obama officials of whoever it might be carrying out such acts.[...]
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.