Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed near Tehran on November 27, 2020. IRGC officer Razi Mousavi was killed in Damascus on December 25, 2023. Iran blamed Israel for both operations. Israeli responsibility has been widely reported, but Israel did not publicly claim either attack.
Fakhrizadeh’s killing near Tehran
Fakhrizadeh was traveling near Absard, east of Tehran, when he was attacked. Iran initially gave conflicting descriptions of the incident. In a detailed 2021 account, The Times of Israel summarized reporting that attributed the operation to Mossad and described a remotely operated machine gun. Those technical details come from that investigation and should be understood as reported, rather than confirmed by Israel.
The IAEA had identified Fakhrizadeh by name in its 2011 report as executive officer of Iran’s Amad Plan. The Agency’s report described activities associated with the plan, most of which it said appeared to have been conducted in 2002 and 2003. That provides institutional context for his importance without requiring the unsupported description of him as the sole architect of Iran’s nuclear program.
Mousavi’s killing in Damascus
Razi Mousavi, a senior IRGC officer serving in Syria, was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in the Sayeda Zeinab area south of Damascus. Iranian state media said he had been an experienced adviser and coordinated the military alliance between Iran and Syria. Contemporaneous reporting also described his involvement in Iranian efforts to supply regional proxy groups, including Hezbollah.
The two killings took place in different settings and their operational details are not equally established. Fakhrizadeh’s death was followed by Iran’s public pledge of retaliation; Mousavi’s death drew a similar threat from Tehran. Both episodes show how the conflict reaches beyond facilities and weapons shipments to people connected to Iran’s military and nuclear networks.