LONDON: Israel has been accused of poisoning two Iranian scientists involved in the regime’s missile programs, amid a rise in killings in the country.
Ayub Antezari, 35, a Yazd-based engineer at the Missile and Drone Center, died of suspected poisoning on May 31 after returning from a party.
Shortly thereafter, 31-year-old Kamran Agmolai died of multiple organ failure after returning from a business trip in Tabriz on June 2. He was a geologist who reportedly worked at the Natanz nuclear facility.
Antzari’s dinner party host has gone missing, according to The New York Times, which Iranian officials said was blamed on Israel.
The suspected poisonings, who have not publicly seen the blame on Israel, follow a series of killings on men affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a special branch of the Iranian regime’s military.
Colonel Sayad Khodai, one of the people associated with the IRGC, was fatally shot in Tehran on 22 May. He was known for working in Syria supporting Shia militias in Iran that were facing Daesh and other rebel groups. Iran has openly blamed Israel for its death, vowing to take revenge.
On 3 June, Colonel Ali Ismailzadeh, who was also associated with the IRGC, died after falling from the roof of his house just outside Tehran.
Iranian officials said it was a suicide accident, but Iran International, an opposition television channel, said Ismailzadeh was assassinated to spy on Israel.
Just a week before Ismailzadeh’s death, Ehsan Gadbigi, an engineer, was killed in a drone strike on May 25 at the Perchin military research site.
Located just outside Tehran, Parachin is the center of the regime’s missile and drone development efforts. It is also reportedly related to the nuclear weapons development programme.
And recently, Iran announced the death of two low-ranking IRGC officers. Second Lieutenant Ali Kamani was reportedly killed in a “car accident”, according to initial news reports, but later official publications said he was “martyred”.
Kamani’s death over the weekend was followed by reports of another official, Mohammad Abdus, dying “during a mission” in Iran’s north.