Majid Shahriari ( fa, مجید شهریاری, c. 1966 – 29 November 2010) was a top Iranian nuclear scientist and physicist who worked with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Career

He specialized in

neutron transport Neutron transport (also known as neutronics) is the study of the motions and interactions of neutrons with materials. Nuclear scientists and engineers often need to know where neutrons are in an apparatus, what direction they are going, and how qu ...

, a phenomenon that lies at the heart of nuclear chain reactions in reactors and bombs. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', he "had no known links to banned nuclear work". According to ''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

'' he "was a quantum physicist and was not a political figure at all" and he "was not involved in Iran's nuclear programme". He was also one of the two Iranian scientists of the

International Centre for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science Applications in the Middle East The Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) is an independent laboratory located in Allan in the Balqa governorate of Jordan, created under the auspices of UNESCO on 30 May 2002. Aimed at promo ...

, beside Masoud Alimohammadi, another assassinated scientist. According to ''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

'', Majid Shahriari and Aria Tahami were "Chief Nuclear Scientists of Iran's nuclear program". Some Iranian media reports said he taught at the

Supreme National Defense University Supreme National Defense University ( fa, دانشگاه و پژوهشگاه عالی دفاع ملی و تحقیقات راهبردی, Daneshgah-e 'ali-ye Defa'-e Melli va Tahqiqat-e Rahbordi, lit=National Defense University and Institute for Stra ...

, which is run by the

Iranian Army The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Niroo-ye Zamini-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran''), acronymed NEZAJA ( fa, نزاجا, NEZEJA) are the ground forc ...

, according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

Assassination

On 29 November 2010, assassins riding motorcycles planted and detonated C-4 (explosive) on his car door whilst he was driving. He was instantly killed. His fellow nuclear scientist Fereydoon Abbasi, a professor at

Shahid Beheshti University Shahid Behesti University ( fa, دانشگاه شهید بهشتی , Dāneshgāh-e Shahid Beheshti) (formerly known as the National University of Iran) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. The university offers many programs at Bache ...

was severely wounded. Dr. Abbasi's wife was also hurt. The killers had attached bombs to the professors' cars and detonated them from a distance. Iranian officials have variously blamed

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for assassinating Shahriari.

Saeed Jalili Saeed Jalili ( fa, سعید جلیلی; born 1 September 1965) is an Iranian conservative politician and diplomat who was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment ...

, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as saying Western nations "exercise terrorism to liquidate Iran's nuclear scientists". ''Time'' magazine ran an article questioning whether this action was perpetrated by Mossad (Israel's external intelligence service). According to ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' (UK), Israel allegedly planned to conduct covert operations against Iran, including assassinations. A Tehran nuclear site was officially renamed after him after his assassination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahriari, Majid Date of birth unknown 2010 deaths People from Zanjan, Iran Iranian physicists Deaths by car bomb in Iran Iranian murder victims Year of birth uncertain 1966 births People killed in Mossad operations Iran–Israel proxy conflict

Career

Assassination

See also

References