Iran believes Israel killed two of its scientists by poisoning their food in May, The New York Times reported on Monday citing Iranian officials.
The report identified the scientists as Ayoub Entezari, an aeronautical engineer who worked for a military research center, and Kamran Aghamolaei, a geologist.
They are described as top university graduates who were “young, healthy and athletic.” They both fell suddenly ill in late May and continued to grow sicker before ending up in the intensive care units of hospitals in two different cities in Iran.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
They both died within days of each other. Iran suspects these are targeted killings by Israel.
Should Iran’s suspicions prove to be true, it would be part of a shadow war where Israel targets Iran’s military personnel and officials and scientists related to the country’s nuclear program, and Iran retaliates by targeting Israelis abroad.
Earlier this week, Iran's state media announced that two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace division died “on duty” in separate instances, without giving further details.
Those two deaths come after the assassination of IRGC Colonel Sayad Khodai who was shot dead in his car by two assailants on motorcycles in Tehran on May 22.
The New York Times cited an Israeli intelligence official briefed on the communications as saying that Israel has informed US officials that it was behind Khodai’s killing.
Read more:
Iran’s IRGC says airspace fighter died in ‘car accident’ while on mission
Israel says foiled Iran’s attack against Israelis in Turkey as Tehran seeks ‘revenge’
Iran defense ministry says ‘employee’ killed amid series of mysterious deaths
