"Iran's top nuclear scientist was killed Friday in an alleged assassination that the country's foreign minister linked to Israel. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, considered one of the masterminds of Iran's controversial nuclear program, died after his car was apparently ambushed in a district east of Tehran," reported CNN. "A landmark report by the UN nuclear watchdog in 2011 identified Fakhrizadeh as a central figure in suspected Iranian work to develop technology and skills needed for atomic bombs, and suggested he may still have a role in such activity." Iran immediately blamed Israel for the assassination and the US deployed aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf to protect its troops. The US had imposed sanctions on Fakhrizadeh in 2008. Israel assassinated 4 Iranian nuclear scientists between 2010 and 2012. In 2018, Mossad agents broke into a warehouse in an industrial district of Tehran and "fled with half a ton of secret materials, including 50,000 pages 163 compact discs containing files, videos and plans" regarding Iran's nuclear activity. Not all Mossad operations go so smoothly. In 2010, Dubai police issued international arrest warrants for 26 Mossad agents involved in the assassination of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mahbhouh who, Israel believed, was instrumental in the kidnap of two Israeli soldiers. In the last few months Israel signed peace deals with the UAE and Bahrain, and then with Sudan at the end of October, in Washington. These are known as 'Abraham Accords', but Saudi Arabia is "the big white whale in this story", said Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum. Just a few days back, "An Israeli government official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first ever known meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, but the claim was swiftly denied by Riyadh's top diplomat." The talks were apparenly attended by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. This trip by Netanyahu and the head of Mossad to Saudi Arabia was not about normalizing relations but about concerns both nations have about Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the US presidential election, said Joel Rosenberg. There was mutual hatred between Netanyahu and Barack Obama, and Biden was Obama's Vice President. There were rumors in 2014 that Obama threatened to shoot Israeli jets down if they tried to bomb Iranian nuclear research sites. The Obama administration denied the rumors. Israel has till 20 January if it is to attack Iran. However, bombing nuclear sites may not be enough because Iran's retaliation will be ferocious, it has a wide range of ballistic missiles and Saudi Arabia is just across the Gulf. Biden may have to start his term with an all out war. A warm welcome. Very warm.
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