A senior Israeli official involved in tracking top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh for years told The New York Times that Iran’s aspirations to nuclear weapons, headed by Fakhridzadeh, is such an international threat that the world should thank Israel.

The NYT report also briefly described the elimination of Fakhrizadeh in a village near Teheran on Friday as well as elaborated on Israel’s capabilities of striking down Iranian citizens in the heart of the Islamic Republic.

“Driving a carefully circuitous route to the home of his in-laws in a city outside Tehran, Mr. Fakhrizadeh’s car was stopped Friday by a car bomb in a Nissan so laden with explosives that it knocked out a power line,” the report stated. “A squad of gunmen then leapt from a black S.U.V., overpowered his bodyguards and unleashed a barrage of gunfire before speeding away as Mr. Fakhrizadeh lay dying in the street.”

The report quotes Bruce Reidel, a researcher at the Brookings Institution and a former official of the Central Intelligence Agency with experience in Israel, who noted out that almost no other country in the world has Israel’s ability to strike its enemy inside its home territory.

“It’s unprecedented,” Reidel said. “And it shows no sign of being effectively countered by the Iranians.”

According to Reidel, Israel’s success against Iran is a result of concentrating the resources of its spy agencies on its greatest nemesis. Additionally, Israel has forged ties with countries neighboring Iran, enabling them to establish surveillance and recruitment “platforms” – especially in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Israel also recruits native Farsi speakers from Iranian immigrants to Israel and has succeeded in recruiting “an array of Iranian collaborators as well.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)