Iran Says AI, Satellite-controlled Gun Killed Top Nuclear Scientist

In this picture released by the Iranian Defense Ministry and taken on Nov. 28, 2020, caretakers carry the flag-draped coffin of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during a funeral ceremony in Mashhad, Iran. (AP)
In this picture released by the Iranian Defense Ministry and taken on Nov. 28, 2020, caretakers carry the flag-draped coffin of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during a funeral ceremony in Mashhad, Iran. (AP)
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Iran Says AI, Satellite-controlled Gun Killed Top Nuclear Scientist

In this picture released by the Iranian Defense Ministry and taken on Nov. 28, 2020, caretakers carry the flag-draped coffin of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during a funeral ceremony in Mashhad, Iran. (AP)
In this picture released by the Iranian Defense Ministry and taken on Nov. 28, 2020, caretakers carry the flag-draped coffin of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during a funeral ceremony in Mashhad, Iran. (AP)

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) revealed that artificial intelligence and satellite-controlled gun was used to kill nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

IRGC Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that 13 bullets were fired and one of them targeted Fakhrizadeh's back, injuring his spinal cord.

The top scientist's convoy was attacked on November 27 while traveling through Damavand province, east of Tehran.

Speaking during the National Student Day ceremony at the University of Tehran, Fadavi explained that 11 IRGC servicemen were accompanying the late scientist, adding that the Nissan car exploded at the scene aiming to eliminate the protection.

No hitman was present at the scene, he noted, saying a machine gun equipped with a “satellite-controlled smart system” and installed on a pickup fired the 13 shots, while all the other bullets were fired by the security guards.

The system controlling the machine gun zoomed in on Fakhrizadeh's face, while the head of the security team had been shot after shielding Fakhrizadeh. His wife, who was only "25 centimeters away", was unharmed.

Asked about Iran’s response to the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani in early January, the deputy chief said, “We will choose how to take revenge.”

He indicated that the country has been at war with the US since 1986, saying that Washington was unable to achieve any victory ever since.

Fadavi noted that the US wanted to deter Iran, however, its responses were weak and it never assumed responsibility for any attack, adding that the US President was the first to do so.

In response to a question on IRGC's suggestions to avenge Soleimani's death which were all rejected by the government, Fadavi asserted that the Corps does not follow the cabinet's policies, but rather the orders of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

Iran accuses the Israeli Mossad and the exiled Mujahedin Khalq of carrying out a complicated operation using a “completely new” assassination method to kill the nuclear scientist.



Trump Jokes that he'd Like to be the Next Pope

President Donald Trump exists Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump exists Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
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Trump Jokes that he'd Like to be the Next Pope

President Donald Trump exists Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump exists Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday joked that he would like to succeed Pope Francis, who died last week at the age of 88.
Trump, asked about whom he'd like to see become the next Catholic pontiff, told reporters: "I'd like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice."
Trump noted he actually had no preference, adding, "I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, is not on the short list of possible contenders for the top spot, but it does include another American, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. There has never been a pope from the US.
Trump and his wife Melania traveled to Rome last weekend to attend the funeral of the first pontiff from Latin America.
The two men had exchanged criticisms over a decade, mostly related to the pope's plea for compassion for migrants, a group Trump has repeatedly sought to deport.

Trump and Dolan saw each other at Francis’ funeral.
About 135 Catholic cardinals will soon be tasked with entering a secret conclave to choose the next pope, with no clear frontrunner in sight.