Bomb Kills Iranian Nuclear Scientist

(Nov. 29) -- Identical bombings blamed on mysterious assailants on motorcycles killed an Iranian nuclear scientist and wounded his colleague during their morning commutes today through Tehran traffic.

State media described sophisticated plots by killers on motorbikes, who swiftly attached bombs to the scientists' cars as they whizzed past. One report said the bombers used magnets to stick explosives to the cars' windshields, The Daily Telegraph reported.

At a news conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, "Undoubtedly, the hand of the Zionist regime and Western governments is involved in the assassination," according to The Associated Press.

The U.S. State Department denied the accusation. Israel does not comment on such matters, an Israeli government spokesman told the AP.

Majid Shahriari, a professor at the capital's Shahid Beheshti University, died instantly, and his colleague Fereidoun Abbasi, a nuclear laser expert, was injured in a separate attack across town. Both their wives, who were riding with them, were also wounded.

Both scientists are believed to be senior figures in the school's nuclear engineering program. It's unclear whether they were also directly involved in Tehran's disputed nuclear activities, for which the United Nations has slapped Iran with four rounds of sanctions.

Abbasi's name was mentioned in a March 2007 U.N. Security Council resolution calling for Iran's nuclear disarmament, state-run Press TV noted, suggesting that "perpetrators behind the assassination could be traced through those who included the professor's name in the U.N. resolution" -- namely, Israel and the United States. State TV also blamed the attack on "agents of the Zionist regime," Bloomberg reported.

Ironically, both scientists were associated with a non-nuclear research unit based in Jordan that also includes researchers from Israel, The New York Times reported. It's unclear whether they could have been targeted for their links to the group, called SESAME -- for Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East.

In Tehran, Shahriari is believed to have been involved in research to analyze neutrons that could eventually be used to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors for peaceful or military purposes. The head of Iran's atomic energy organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, confirmed to the Telegraph that Shahriari was involved in a "major project," but would not elaborate further.

Today's killings prompted harsh words from Salehi, who described Shahriari as a former student.

"Do not play with fire," Salehi told the state news agency, IRNA, according to the Los Angeles Times. "There is a limit to the Iranian nation's patience, and if we run out of patience, the enemy will suffer adverse consequences. Of course, we still maintain our patience."

At least two other Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in recent years, in attacks Iran has blamed on the West's alleged efforts to undermine the country's nuclear program.

Today's bombings also come amid word that Tehran's Arab neighbors in the Middle East harbor fears about Iran's nuclear activities. Saudi Arabia has privately voiced concerns and even encouraged an attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, according to a trove of U.S. diplomatic cables published online by WikiLeaks.