Ex-CIA Director Blasts Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientist

“This was a criminal act & highly reckless,” Brennan wrote on Twitter Friday afternoon. “It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that attack on Fakhrizadeh had “serious indications” that ‘Israel’ was involved in the assassination but did not provide additional details – though there are expected to be international repercussions.

Fakhrizadeh’s assassination comes less than a year after the assassination of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps [IRGC] Quds Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani by the US military in a drone strike while he was on an official visit to Baghdad.

“Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits,” Brennan wrote, urging Iranian officials to address the topic diplomatically once President-elect Joe Biden’s administration takes over the White House.

Trump has yet to publicly comment on the attack, but retweeted a message by ‘Israeli’ journalist Yossi Melman who said the killing of the Iranian nuclear scientist was “a major psychological and professional blow for Iran.”