Contributed by Ben Wilson

A growing list of nations including China, Syria, and the European Union have condemned the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as an act of terror.

The nuclear scientist was attacked in a coordinated command style ambush, in the streets of a small Iranian city called Absard. The attack has been blamed on the Israel government and Washington has been accused of being the power behind it.

Neither Israel nor the United States have made a public comment, which adds to the belief that they are involved.

Suffering from critical injuries after his car sprayed with bullets., Fakhrizadeh was rushed to hospital by ambulance, where he died a short time later.

Photo from AP: Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

Washington and Israel have long been accusing Iran of building nuclear weapons., although evidence of this has never been shown. Only some satellite photos of facilities, which look like factories but do not show what they do.

Iran denies the accusation and insists its nuclear program is aimed at the production of electricity.

The European Union and other counties continue to maintain a non-nuclear weapons agreement with Iran. The agreement signed in 2015 agreed to lift sanctions in return for Iran’s curbing of nuclear work.

Iran is also an original member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

It is the United States, and particularly under Donald trump that walked away from this in 2018 and escalated closer to a war footing through aggressive diplomacy, crippling sanctions, military threats, sabotage of industry and infrastructure, and selective assassinations.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a televised Cabinet meeting on Saturday that Iran would respond “at the proper time”.

Photo by Evan Vucci/AP: Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump

In 2018, when Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu presented an accusation about Iran building nuclear weapons, he said, “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.” It was taken as a threat.

Now that both Trump and Netanyahu find themselves in difficult situations, there is a good incentive for a convenient distraction.