Question: On December 6, 2020, France 24 quoted Brigadier General Ali Fadavi, Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guard, stating that "the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was carried out by firing 13 bullets from a machine gun that was focused on Fakhrizadeh's face using a sophisticated camera with the help of artificial intelligence." Prior to this, on December 2, 2020, the Guardian Council, which oversees the work of the Iranian Shura Council (Parliament), approved a draft law to increase uranium enrichment to 20%, which was recently adopted following the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. This law had sparked controversy between President Hassan Rouhani's government, which opposed it and described it as "harmful," and the Parliament, which passed the law with its nine articles. How can there be disagreement instead of agreement on taking retaliatory action against the party behind the assassination of one of the most prominent Muslim nuclear scientists in Iran, especially since Iran declares that the Jewish entity is behind this act? Or is this disagreement a way to turn the page on the nuclear scientist, just as the Iranian regime turned the page on Qasem Soleimani?
Answer: To clarify the answer, we review the following points:
First: In an operation that carries significant challenge to the Iranian regime in its location and method of execution, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an official in the Ministry of Defense and an Iranian nuclear scientist, was assassinated on Friday, November 27, 2020. This is a major assassination, no less significant than the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, in January 2020. Reports indicate that "diplomats describe him as the 'father of the Iranian bomb'" (BBC, November 27, 2020). From a personal standpoint, he was a central figure in Iran's nuclear and missile programs. From another standpoint, the operation took place inside Iran, and specifically near the capital, Tehran—not in Iraq as happened with Qasem Soleimani. Furthermore, the method of assassination, which involved an explosive car and a machine-gun attack, represents a major challenge to Iran by all standards. Although the assassination of scientists in Iran is a series that hasn't stopped, and Iran always accuses the Jewish entity and threatens it with a response at the appropriate place and time—and as usual, no response occurs—today's international circumstances cast a shadow over this operation, especially the situation resulting from the US elections and the resulting tension and increased division within America.
Second: Regarding this assassination operation, which Iran was quick to accuse the Jewish entity of executing, it could have been placed in the context of the Jewish entity's persistent pursuit to weaken Iran's strategic nuclear and missile capabilities. The Jewish entity could have hidden and denied responsibility as usual to avoid potential retaliatory reactions. However, this time it did not do so; rather, it made hints that rose to the level of an explicit statement that it was the one that carried out this operation. This would not have happened without a significant green light from the Trump administration. In fact, the Trump administration was at least satisfied with the assassination operation carried out by the Jewish entity. The evidence for this includes:
US President Donald Trump retweeted news on his Twitter account about the assassination operation. "Trump retweeted a report by the New York Times about the assassination of Fakhrizadeh. Trump also retweeted a tweet by Israeli journalist Yossi Melman stating that this scientist was the head of Iran's secret military program and that he had been wanted by the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad) for years, and that his assassination deals a psychological and professional blow to Iran..." (RT, November 27, 2020). It was as if he were challenging Iran to take any response.
Al Jazeera and its website reported on November 28, 2020, that Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Jewish entity, hinted unusually at his entity's responsibility for the assassination. "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a recorded clip in which he reviewed, unusually, his achievements that he said he had achieved over the past week. It was striking that Netanyahu began the recording by saying that he would review some of his achievements, but not all of them because he could not do so." This means that the Jewish entity did not hide or deny, but rather hinted as if explicitly declaring its responsibility, as well as announcing a state of high alert at its embassies worldwide.
Regarding threats and warnings, the American announcement came on November 27, 2020—the day of the assassination—about sending the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to the Gulf along with other warships. Just before the assassination, the American B-52 bomber was sent to the Gulf, and after the assassination, Trump warned of a devastating response. "The Washington Post quoted American officials saying that President Donald Trump threatened immediate and 'overwhelming' retaliation if any American was killed in Iraq. This threat, revealed by the Washington Post, coincided with the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh near Tehran on Friday" (Al-Hurra, November 28, 2020).
Third: The meaning of all this is that the Trump administration and the Jewish entity realize that Iran will not carry out an effective response during the transition period of power in America, especially since Iran hopes that the "elected" US President Biden will bring something new. This is despite knowing that Trump and Biden only differ in means and methods; otherwise, America's interest for both of them is above all their followers among the agents and those revolving in their orbits. Whoever ponders this will find it clear. Thus, Iran beats around the bush regarding the response and focuses on other issues to divert public opinion away from the military response demanded by the public:
Iran issued statements considering the assassination of its most important scientist and official in its nuclear and missile program as merely a trap to plunge it into "chaos," despite knowing the mastermind (the Jewish entity). It announced through its President Rouhani that this mastermind and the Trump administration behind them "are thinking of creating chaos, but they must realize that we have uncovered their games and they will not succeed in achieving their malicious goals." Iran knows who is hitting it; it has been hit before through its scientists and its soldiers in Syria and Iraq. Yet now it announces it will not respond and will not fall into the trap... and it counts the days for Biden's arrival to the presidency in America! This is the Iran that boasts of its hostility to the "Great Satan" and raises its banners high "Death to America, Death to Israel." The Trump administration has unequivocally exposed the falsity of this Iranian hostility toward America, as the Trump administration carried out a public and major assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq in early 2020, then placed Al-Kadhimi as a ruler over Iraq, ignoring Iran's lack of desire for that and ignoring all Iranian services to America in Syria and elsewhere!
Another matter Iran is focusing on to divert attention from an effective military response is the issue of escalating enrichment to 20%, as it was before the nuclear agreement that bound it to reduce it to 3.67%. This escalation should occur, but without becoming a point of contention between the government and other councils to distract people from the appropriate military response. The Shura Council sees it as a good thing, while the government sees it as harmful and evil! "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced today, Wednesday, during a government meeting, the rejection of a draft law to confront American sanctions and respond to the assassination of the prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which was approved by the Iranian Parliament, controlled by conservatives, yesterday, Tuesday. Rouhani considered, according to Iranian television, that the parliament's decision is 'harmful'... Among the most important of those decisions taken by the 'conservative' Iranian parliament was raising the uranium enrichment rate to 20 percent and canceling the implementation of the Additional Protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency... noting that Iran, before reaching the nuclear agreement, was producing uranium at an enrichment rate of 20 percent, but it pledged under the agreement to reduce it to 3.67 percent" (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, December 2, 2020). Likewise, "The Guardian Council overseeing the work of the Iranian Shura Council (Parliament) approved a draft law on increasing uranium enrichment that was recently adopted in light of the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh... This law sparked controversy among the ruling elite in Iran, and President Hassan Rouhani's government expressed its opposition to it..." (Russia Today, December 2, 2020).
Fourth: It must be noted that all of this does not mean the Trump administration has cut its ties with Iran, but it has increased the humiliation and degradation of Iran. It wants Iran to serve it while standing, sitting, and sleeping—meaning to revolve completely with American interests and the desires of American administrations however they change. Qasem Soleimani was previously assassinated, and Iran threatened, but the result was a "calculated" bombardment—as if "agreed upon"—of the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq, and then the threat ended! Despite the ability of Iran's external arms to carry out some form of revenge, Iran does not accept that. Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on November 24, 2020, quoting the British Middle East Eye, that Iran is pressuring its militias in Iraq to stop any targeting of American interests in Iraq. It said: "General Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, arrived 24 hours after the US embassy in the Green Zone in Baghdad was targeted with a barrage of missiles last week, and ordered the leaders of Iraqi factions to stop targeting American sites."
Fifth: Anyone scrutinizing what has happened and is happening regarding the aggression of the Jewish state, America's approval, and the tension created with it will find the following:
After the rapprochement actions taken by President Trump with the Jewish entity, such as moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan, and launching the "Deal of the Century" with its accompanying appeasement of the Jewish entity, the Trump administration became convinced that Iran's nuclear program constitutes a threat to the Jewish entity that must be removed or limited. Therefore, it accelerated its actions more than previous administrations. It is worth noting that the broad popular base of "conservative Evangelicals" among white Americans, which is part of the Republican Party's base, supports this American policy to provide maximum security for the Jewish entity, even considering it an intellectual "religious" issue higher than politics.
After the division in America increased and reached an acute degree, the Trump administration wants, by escalating tensions with Iran, to increase obstacles in the Middle East for the President-elect, Democrat Biden. It aims to force him, upon taking the reins of the presidency in America, to engage strongly in conflicts around oil regions from the strategic viewpoint of American oil, energy, and arms companies, whose influence in American policy is being reinforced.
As a result of the US elections, despite the final certification not being completed yet, the American oil, energy, and arms companies that stood behind Trump's election campaign:
Appear to be in a losing position internally in America with the expected return of America to the Paris Climate Agreement, which will cause them heavy losses. This could affect these companies in terms of oil prices, especially during the Corona period, which is expected to extend to the end of 2021. Added to this is the possibility of President-elect Biden returning in some way to the Iranian nuclear agreement and its impact on those companies.
In light of all these fears, these companies want to benefit from the remaining period of the Trump administration, especially since courts in the US states are refuting Trump's claims of fraud, which seems to diminish his chances of overturning the election results. Consequently, those companies are pushing the Trump administration to escalate the situation in the Gulf, all to increase oil prices and increase arms deals.
Sixth: Escalating the situation in the Gulf may shift the compass of the actual response from the direction of the Jewish entity to another direction, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The justifications for this could be easy, as these countries are normalizing with the Jewish entity openly or secretly. Iran, in its reaction to the assassination, speaks of "hypocrites," meaning Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain. Even with the Jewish entity's hint that is close to an explicit declaration of responsibility, Iran can easily say that Saudis were the ones who carried out the attack near Tehran. It can say that Saudi intelligence coordinated this "Jewish act" inside Iran with Saudi funding, especially since the secret visit of the Prime Minister of the Jewish entity to Saudi Arabia, which was rumored on November 23, 2020, and his meeting with Bin Salman and US Secretary of State Pompeo, all make it likely and easy to link the assassination operation to Saudi Arabia. The response could also be directed toward the UAE. Al Jazeera reported on December 1, 2020, on its website, quoting the British Middle East Eye, that Iran "threatened to direct a direct military strike against the UAE in response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh. The British site said—quoting an unnamed Emirati source—that Tehran contacted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed directly and informed him that it would direct a strike against his country in response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh..." Likewise, Iran's response could be through more qualitative support with missiles and drones for the Houthis against Saudi oil targets. This is already occurring, and increasing it does not carry much responsibility. If Iran takes this direction, it would have deceived its people who are demanding a response against the actual perpetrator of the assassination, rather than dancing around it!
Seventh: Thus, Muslim scientists are killed one after another, especially nuclear scientists in Iran, and this is repeated without action! This has emboldened and continues to embolden the monstrous state built on the occupation of the blessed land of Palestine to repeat the assassination of Iranian Muslim scientists! It is painful that the rulers in the Muslim lands are able to buy humiliation with honor... to become agents for the colonialist disbelievers or revolve in their orbits... they are aggressed upon and remain silent, their sanctities are violated and they do not object. This is the situation after the disappearance of the Khilafah; the Muslims have been afflicted with Ruwaybidah (ignorant/insignificant) rulers who do not repel the hand of an aggressor! The honor of Muslims will not return except with the return of the Khilafah once again. Then, the Khalifah will lead an army to support a woman insulted by a Roman, destroying him and conquering his birthplace. This is how the honor of Muslims returns: through men who viewed this world and its pleasures as insignificant and looked forward to what is with Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Powerful. These men will rise to remove these rulers and make them a thing of the past, ending this oppressive rule. These men will then lead the Ummah—after Allah, the Helper of His believing servants, grants them success—to the state of honor, glory, and dignity: the second Khilafah State. A state that removes the Jewish entity and cuts off the hands of America and the rest of the colonialist disbelievers from the Islamic region, making it forbidden to them until the Day of Judgment. At that time, the minarets of the mosques will repeat over and over the words of the Almighty:
وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقاً
“And say, ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to perish.’” (Surah Al-Isra 17:81)
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هُوَ قُلْ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ قَرِيباً
“And they say, ‘When will that be?’ Say, ‘Perhaps it is near.’” (Surah Al-Isra 17:51)
22nd of Rabi’ al-Akhir 1442 AH 7/12/2020 CE