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.



Russia Says It Struck Military-industrial Facilities in Kyiv

This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on July 9, 2025, shows firefighters extinguishing a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on July 9, 2025, shows firefighters extinguishing a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)
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Russia Says It Struck Military-industrial Facilities in Kyiv

This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on July 9, 2025, shows firefighters extinguishing a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on July 9, 2025, shows firefighters extinguishing a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)

Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday that its forces had successfully carried out strikes on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and on a military airfield in Ukraine.

"The armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a group strike with high-precision long-range weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine in Kyiv and on the infrastructure of the military airfield," the ministry said.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.