Terror can not obstruct Iran’s path

Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani says assassinating the country’s nuclear scientists will not disrupt Iran’s nuclear program.

“The enemies will not be able to create obstacles in the nation’s path of progress by eliminating professors,” Larijani said.

The speaker made the statement at the funeral ceremony of Dr. Majid Shahriari, a Shahid Beheshti University professor who was killed in a bomb attack in Tehran on Monday.

Larijani said that the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission held a meeting with security officials on Monday to discuss the incident.

“During this meeting… the need for expediting the investigation into this case and [the adoption of] necessary measures was emphasized.”

“We have many professors and with the elimination of a number of scientists the enemy will not be able to obstruct our path; the blood of the martyrs is definitely a source of pride and respect for the nation.”

Unknown terrorists detonated bombs in the vehicles of Dr. Majid Shahriari and Professor Fereydoun Abbasi in separate locations on November 29 between 7-8 a.m. local time.

Shahriari was killed immediately, but professor Abbasi and his wife sustained injuries and were transferred to hospital.

Both men were professors at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran.

Iran has blamed Israel and Western powers for the terrorist attacks, hinting at the possible connection between the recent remarks of the head of the British intelligence agency (MI6) about Iran and the European Parliament’s new stance regarding anti-Iran terrorist group.

On October 28, John Sawers accused Iran of pursuing clandestine nuclear activities and said spying is crucial to stop Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Stopping nuclear proliferation cannot be addressed purely by conventional diplomacy. We need intelligence-led operations to make it more difficult for countries like Iran to develop nuclear weapons,” Sawers said.

Last week, the European Parliament issued a declaration, urging Washington to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The European Union took the MKO off its blacklist in 2009. The terrorist group has been on the US terror list since 1997.

The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and is responsible for numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

The organization is also known to have cooperated with Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.