{"id":27035,"date":"2020-11-28T14:47:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-28T14:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/28\/nimitz-back-in-persian-gulf-iran-vows-revenge-for-killing-of-nuke-scientist\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:57:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:57:35","slug":"nimitz-back-in-persian-gulf-iran-vows-revenge-for-killing-of-nuke-scientist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/11\/28\/nimitz-back-in-persian-gulf-iran-vows-revenge-for-killing-of-nuke-scientist\/","title":{"rendered":"Nimitz back in Persian Gulf, Iran vows revenge for killing of nuke scientist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TEHRAN, Iran \u2014 Iran\u2019s supreme leader on Saturday called for the \u201cdefinitive punishment\u201d of those behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/11\/27\/iran-scientist-linked-to-military-nuclear-program-killed\/\" target=_blank>the killing of a scientist<\/a> linked to Tehran\u2019s disbanded military nuclear program, a slaying the Islamic Republic has blamed on Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian scientists a decade ago amid tensions over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, has yet to comment on the killing Friday of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. However, the attack bore the hallmarks of a carefully planned, military-style ambush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The slaying threatens to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/11\/19\/us-attack-risks-full-fledged-war-says-adviser-to-irans-leader\/\" target=_blank>renew tensions between the U.S. and Iran<\/a> in the waning days of President Donald Trump\u2019s term, just as President-elect Joe Biden has suggested his administration could return to Tehran\u2019s nuclear deal with world powers from which Trump earlier withdrew. The Pentagon announced early Saturday that it sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/06\/08\/nimitz-and-its-strike-group-deploy\/\" target=_blank>the aircraft carrier Nimitz<\/a> back into the Mideast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Fakhrizadeh \u201cthe country\u2019s prominent and distinguished nuclear and defensive scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Khamenei said Iran\u2019s first priority after the killing was the \u201cdefinitive punishment of the perpetrators and those who ordered it.\u201d He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2020\/09\/23\/iran-claims-its-drones-shadowed-nimitz-strike-group-in-strait-of-hormuz\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Nimitz1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iran claims its drones shadowed Nimitz strike group in Strait of Hormuz<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Iran claims its drones captured images of the aircraft carrier Nimitz transiting the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to a meeting of his government\u2019s coronavirus task force earlier Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani blamed Israel for the killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rouhani said that Fakhrizadeh\u2019s death would not stop its nuclear program, something Khamenei said as well. Iran\u2019s civilian nuclear program has continued its experiments and now enriches uranium up to 4.5 percent, far below weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But analysts have compared Fakhrizadeh to being on a par with Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who led the U.S.\u2019 Manhattan Project in World War II that created the atom bomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will respond to the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh in a proper time,\u201d Rouhani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added: \u201cThe Iranian nation is smarter than falling into the trap of the Zionists. They are thinking to create chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"629\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/attack-in-Iran-1.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/attack-in-Iran-1.jpg.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/attack-in-Iran-1.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/attack-in-Iran-1.jpg.jpg?resize=768,403 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/attack-in-Iran-1.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,537 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This photo released by the semi-official Fars News Agency shows the scene where Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in Absard, a small city just east of the capital, Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.  Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian scientist that Israel alleged led the Islamic Republic&#8217;s military nuclear program until its disbanding in the early 2000s was \u201cassassinated\u201d Friday, state television said.  (Fars News Agency via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Friday\u2019s attack happened in Absard, a village just east of the capital that is a retreat for the Iranian elite. Iranian state television said an old truck with explosives hidden under a load of wood blew up near a sedan carrying Fakhrizadeh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Fakhrizadeh\u2019s sedan stopped, at least five gunmen emerged and raked the car with rapid fire, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/11\/17\/report-president-trump-asked-senior-leaders-about-military-options-to-strike-iran\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1179668641.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Report: President Trump asked senior leaders about military options to strike Iran<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The president has multiple means to hit Iran.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fakhrizadeh died at a hospital after doctors and paramedics couldn\u2019t revive him. Others wounded included Fakhrizadeh\u2019s bodyguards. Photos and video shared online showed a Nissan sedan with bullet holes in the windshield and blood pooled on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hours after the attack, the Pentagon announced it had brought <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/07\/27\/iran-moves-mock-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier-to-sea-amid-us-tensions\/\" target=_blank>the aircraft carrier Nimitz<\/a> back into the Middle East, an unusual move as the carrier already spent months in the region. It cited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/11\/20\/experts-tell-lawmakers-rapid-afghanistan-withdrawal-is-a-recipe-for-another-terror-attack\/\" target=_blank>the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq <\/a>as the reason for the decision, saying \u201cit was prudent to have additional defensive capabilities in the region to meet any contingency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1463\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50240747247_307802b4c5_k.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) transits the Arabian Sea on Aug. 17, 2020.\" class=\"wp-image-55140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50240747247_307802b4c5_k.jpg.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50240747247_307802b4c5_k.jpg.jpg?resize=300,214 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50240747247_307802b4c5_k.jpg.jpg?resize=768,549 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50240747247_307802b4c5_k.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,732 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50240747247_307802b4c5_k.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1097 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) transits the Arabian Sea on Aug. 17, 2020. (MC3 Elliot Schaudt\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attack comes just days before the 10-year anniversary of the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari that Tehran also blamed on Israel. That and other targeted killings happened at the time that the so-called Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, destroyed Iranian centrifuges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those assaults occurred at the height of Western fears over Iran\u2019s nuclear program. Tehran long has insisted its program is peaceful. However, Fakhrizadeh led Iran\u2019s so-called AMAD program that Israel and the West have alleged was a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that \u201cstructured program\u201d ended in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IAEA inspectors monitor Iranian nuclear sites as part of the now-unraveling nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/06\/04\/what-war-with-iran-could-look-like\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19098471996944.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What war with Iran could look like<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Military Times interviewed more than a dozen military experts, including current and former U.S. military officials, about how a conflict might begin and how it could play out. This is what they said could happen:<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Trump\u2019s 2018 withdrawal from the deal, Iran has abandoned all those limits. Experts now believe Iran has enough low-enriched uranium to make at least two nuclear weapons if it chose to pursue the bomb. Meanwhile, an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at Iran\u2019s Natanz nuclear facility exploded in July in what Tehran now calls a sabotage attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fakhrizadeh, born in 1958, had been sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. for his work on AMAD. Iran always described him as a university physics professor. A member of the Revolutionary Guard, Fakhrizadeh had been seen in pictures in meetings attended by Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a sign of his importance in Iran\u2019s theocracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent years, U.S. sanctions lists name him as heading Iran\u2019s Organization for Defensive Innovation and Research. The State Department described that organization last year as working on \u201cdual-use research and development activities, of which aspects are potentially useful for nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s mission to the U.N., meanwhile, described Fakhrizadeh\u2019s recent work as \u201cdevelopment of the first indigenous COVID-19 test kit\u201d and overseeing Tehran\u2019s efforts at making a possible coronavirus vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USNavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@USNavy<\/a> will fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows. \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/ForceToBeReckonedWith?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ForceToBeReckonedWith<\/a><br><br>Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and Carrier Air Wing 17 conduct flight operations in the Arabian Sea, Nov. 27. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EECbQXvW0d\">pic.twitter.com\/EECbQXvW0d<\/a><\/p>&mdash; U.S. Naval Forces Central Command\/U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/US5thFleet\/status\/1332637969971343360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 28, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pentagon announced early Saturday that it sent the aircraft carrier Nimitz back into the Mideast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":55130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,23,93,12,25,68],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1826,1081],"class_list":["post-27035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RYX2QJVPSJGGJCLNZYRHC7RZYI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/11\/28\/nimitz-back-in-persian-gulf-iran-vows-revenge-for-killing-of-nuke-scientist\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nimitz back in Persian Gulf, Iran vows revenge for killing of nuke scientist - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Pentagon announced early Saturday that it sent the aircraft carrier Nimitz back into the Mideast.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nimitz back in Persian Gulf, Iran vows revenge for killing of nuke scientist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pentagon announced early Saturday that it sent the aircraft carrier Nimitz back into the Mideast.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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