Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed on Saturday near Tehran. He was shot in his own car. Fakhrizadeh is considered one of the fathers of the Iranian nuclear program. Who is behind this murder has not yet been clarified? The Iranian Foreign Minister has made accusations against Israel, other sources are more cautious. The European media write about the possible motives for eliminating the physicist — and the consequences to which it may lead.
Attention: powder keg!
A military conflict with Iran would be a disaster, Politiken warns:
“The theocratic regime controls paramilitary groups in a number of Arab countries and is capable of igniting fires throughout the Middle East. Therefore, assassination and drone attacks are extremely dangerous. The more often Iran is challenged and pressured against the Ayatollah regime, the stronger its motivation to retaliate becomes, and this can very quickly lead to the situation spiraling out of control. Joe Biden, who will soon take office as president of the United States, announced that he intends to return to the nuclear deal with Iran, from which the superpower recklessly withdrew under Trump — and the provisions of which Iran has since violated. This is the only path that would have to be followed — but after the assassination of Fakhrizada, it became much more difficult.”
Iran and the US will not risk a reset
According to the Sabah newspaper, this strike is unlikely to achieve its goal:
“The moderate statements of all the top leaders of Iran — with the exception of the Revolutionary Guard — indicate that Tehran does not intend to sabotage the detente that began in relations with the United States after the election of Joe Biden. And Biden himself, despite pressure from Israel and Saudi Arabia, is determined to start a new era in relations with Iran. Indeed, in the US quiver, the solution to the Iranian crisis is the last arrow with which Washington could maintain its leadership on the world stage. And for Tehran, which has been living with gritted teeth for the past four years, Biden is generally the last chance. Even the assassination of Soleimani did not darken Tehran’s hopes for a post-Trump America.”
The USA must change strategy
In an article in the newspaper La Repubblica, diplomat Giampiero Massolo writes that the Biden administration must draw conclusions:
“A new strategy needs to be developed that takes into account the complex relationship between the free development of the Iranian economy and a long-term and controlled cessation of nuclear and missile programs. Moreover, it should be developed in a context that would at the same time recognize the regional role to which Iran is entitled — provided that this role is carried out in a responsible manner. It is highly likely that the Biden administration will take this path. There is only one alternative: to leave the Islamic Republic in the geo-economic sphere of China and Russia, which often have common interests in crisis regions.”
