Trial Of Suspect In Iranian Scientist's Murder Opens In Tehran

The trial of an Iranian man accused of killing an Iranian nuclear scientist last year in a bomb attack and having links to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has opened in Tehran, Iranian media reported Tuesday.

According to media reports, Ali Jamali Fashi has already confessed to the killing of Masoud Mohammadi, a professor of nuclear physics at Tehran University, and admitted to receiving orders from Mossad to carry out the killing along with five others, which he did not carry out.

Fashi is accused of having received training and money from Mossad for killing the nuclear scientist. He has been charged with MOHAREBE, which means 'enmity against God' and faces death penalty if convicted.

"I (repeatedly) met with Mossad's agents at the Zionist regime's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey," Fashi was quoted as saying during Tuesday's hearing. He also said that he received up to $10,000 each time he met Israeli agents and admitted to providing Mossad with information either directly in Turkey or indirectly from Tehran.

In addition to Mohammadi, several other Iranian scientists have been killed or injured in attacks in recent months. The latest among them was Daryoush Rezaei, a physicist at a Tehran University who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his home in Tehran in July.