Israel didn’t assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says

         

National Post-Sept. 30, 2014 - Iran has long been suspected of carrying on a covert program to develop nuclear weapons.
When Iranian nuclear physicist Ardeshir Hosseinpour was “gassed” to death in 2007, the finger of suspicion was immediately pointed at Israel.
Now, his sister claims he was murdered by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRI) because he would not cooperate with its efforts to divert nuclear work from peaceful purposes to building an atomic bomb.
If Mahboobeh Hosseinpour’s account can be confirmed, it could affect the next round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
Speaking to The Media Line from Turkey via Skype in a conversation 
, Ms. Hosseinpour, 54, said she learned through her sister-in-law, Sara Araghi, of her brother’s secret research.
This was stored on a DVD, which also contained research and formulae for building an atomic bomb 12 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb and methods for neutralizing it.
Ms. Hosseinpour said in November 2004 her brother was contacted by three special agents working for IRI’s defence department. They gave him a personal message from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, 
enlisting him to work on increasing uranium enrichment capabilities in order to build atomic weapons.
The nuclear physicist was also asked to teach and supervise Russian and North Korean scientists to accelerate the project.
In return, “he was offered a two-star rank in the revolutionary guard and ownership of factories.”
After Dr. Hosseinpour’s death, his wife went to his office at Shiraz University and removed the DVD from its hiding place. She also found evidence the room had been searched and items were missing
, including a photo of him with then-president Mohammed Khatami. The DVD was later stolen.
Dr. Hosseinpour’s mother, who died in 2011, was also warned to be careful. She was told Ayatollah Khamenei had issued a fatwa, ordering scientists to work on enriching uranium to 20% for the benefit of the Islamic Republic.