On 27 Nov 2020 Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent Iranian physicist, was murdered in what can only be described as a professionally executed act of state sponsored terrorism. It was a pre-planned assassination that has been roundly denounced, if not condemned, even by a US official. We don’t have any birth details on Fakhrizadeh himself, and in our considerations to follow, it doesn’t matter anyway. What is important is what his assassination means to the wider world, the region, and specifically Iran, the US and Israel, the latter two being blamed for the event, and for obvious reasons, to be outlined as we go along. This post will be the first of several on the matter, as this event is a very significant event in the history of Israel and Iran, and the influence of the Zionist lobby in the United States.
At around 2:00 PM IRST (local time) in Absard, the security detail that was seeing Fakhrizadeh to his home just outside Tehran was ambushed, where he was mortally wounded, later to die in hospital after being airlifted from the scene. The chart of the incident is below (bigger):
The midpoints in the chart show the intent of the event rather clearly. We see one of the ‘murder midpoints’ in evidence, Pluto=Mars/Saturn, showing also the destructive intent of the event and in the actions taking place during the operation. The use of force is shown by the midpoint, Pluto= Uranus/Ascendant. The suddenness of the event and the emotional upheaval it has caused in Iran is shown by the midpoint, MC=Sun/Uranus. These preceding are shown in the 45° modulus midpoints.
As to the 90° midpoints, we have Sun=Mars/Pluto: “Injury, accident, violent measures, an upset or shock caused through the intervention of Higher Power.” And then lastly we have the midpoint, Uranus=Sun/Ascendant: “The desire to establish oneself in the world by violent means”. These midpoints are all clear enough as to what was underlying the event.
Some of the other points of note in the chart are the Aries rising and Mars in the first house placements. Mars is contra-parallel Neptune, though it is unaspected otherwise. The Sabian symbol of the rising degree is of interest: “The ruler of a nation”. The ruler in this case, could also be the head of a department, as in the case of the victim. It can also point to the heads of the two nations most implicated in the attack – Trump and Netanyahu. The degree of the MC is also interesting:” Ten logs lie at an archway leading to darker woods.” Perhaps we are looking at an event that is leading to a darker, more uncertain future. At this point it is hard to say.
Then, we have a stellium by parallel of the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn and Ceres, pointing to a very significant event and one which a reflects a change in circumstances or a turning point. Fakhrizadeh’s assassination has certainly been that, or has brought it about, to be covered shortly. Lastly, we note – going back to the midpoint, Pluto=Mars/Saturn – Eris is also a point in that midpoint structure, showing a targeted killing that is meant to provoke a wider response.
Before we go further into the possible consequences of the assassination, just who was Mohsen Fakhrizadeh? In Israeli and Western media he is portrayed as the head of Iran’s nuclear program and trotted out as the mastermind of their supposed secret attempts to develop a nuclear weapon. We should be aware that if Iran had wanted a nuclear weapon, they would have one by now. The reason they would likely have one is due to their technical expertise. They graduate more students in STEM subjects per capita than any other nation, out of a population of around 80 million people. But development of a nuke is against their religion. It has been mandated they would never do so by decree. Instead, they have developed a very formidable antiaircraft defense, including anti-shipping missiles with ranges of over 1000 km. This is one of the biggest reasons we have not been to war against Iran.
Fakhrizadeh taught physics at Imam Hussein University and had been part of the armed services logistics agency. As it turns out, he had no background in nuclear physics, and he was the Iranian equivalent to Oppenheimer, we are told? Instead, he was fingered by Mossad to be the fictional head of the alleged nuclear weapons program in Iran, which is why he was pointed out directly by Bibi in his 2018 showcase presentation when he gave ‘evidence’ of Iran’s nuclear program. There is a video that explains a lot of this with Mohammed Morandi and Gareth Porter, so we won’t discuss all the details here except for a few points.
If we remember the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003, there was a lot of talk about weapons of mass destruction that Saddam was somehow going to use against the West and Israel. Then, Saddam somehow spirited those away once Iraq was invaded. The entire WMD story about Iraq was a lie used to justify the invasion. There were no WMDs. What we see with the Fakhrizadeh story is more of the same sort of fiction writing on the part of the US and Israelis to somehow justify an action against Iran – the two main reasons being that Iran throws a big wrench in the plans of Israeli ambitions in the region and the US is still exhibiting quite a bit of vengefulness over the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which spoiled America’s plans for the region. The Saudis figure into this, too, since they would like to be the regional hegemon instead of Iran.
What is really behind this assassination, then, as if it was not obvious?
- Israel has serious reservations about a Biden presidency, thinking they will lose their pride of place at the US lobbying table and be forced to walk back settlements and the gifts that Trump has granted them while in office. They want to drag the US into a conflict with Iran to: a) keep Trump in office and the gravy train running, and b) hobble Iran. Neither of those things are likely to happen as events in the US are trending at the moment.
- Bibi is facing serious legal challenges and is weak politically. He needs the distraction of a war – which hopefully the US will fight for him – to distract from his legal battles, his poor handling of the COVID crisis there and domestic problems in Israel, which worsen as the months pass.
- The hope is that in assassinating a high-profile scientist, highly respected in Iran, that it will provoke some kind of knee-jerk response from the Iranians that would rally the world, or at least the US, behind Israel for an attack against Iran. They really have no idea what that would mean. The Iranians are too smart to be baited by such an act, anyway. The Iranians will respond, and have already started to do so, but it will be on their terms and in their time. They can wait out Trump, and Bibi too, for that matter.
- It is an attempt to keep the Biden administration from going back into the JCPOA. The more the Israelis can manufacture and push the story that Iran is going for the bomb, the more they hope that the US will keep the pressure on Iran and stay out of the JCPOA.
- Trump would like to have an event happen regarding Iran that would justify his staying in office, under emergency powers – wartime president and all that. He has sought advice on targets to hit in Iran before he leaves office. But the Pentagon has cooled his heels on it. And again, the Iranians are too smart to fall for such a stunt. They want to see Trump leave, and if they do anything overt at the moment, the risk that Trump would stay is too large.
The 4th point is of particular interest here. The Iranian parliament has just overwhelmingly voted to increase enrichment of uranium to levels of over 20%, enough to make a bomb. This is a first step in their retaliation. But Iran has stated categorically it does not want a bomb. So, what is going on with this? Now, it is the Iranians who are baiting the Israelis and Americans. Consider it a type of psychological warfare. Such a move will frighten the Europeans. On the surface, it would seem to be a foolish thing to do, as in giving justification for an attack on Iranian facilities. But there is another side to it.
In addition to the additional enrichment of uranium, the bill the Iranians just passed stipulates rebuilding the destroyed Arak nuclear facility, in addition to building a new one. And finally, the bill obliges Tehran to abandon voluntary compliance with the Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. This will likely cause apoplexy in Israel and Washington. But looking beneath the surface, these are points to be bargained away in future negotiations for another version of the JCPOA. It could backfire on Iran, but then it can also work to their advantage in the future.
Why are all the fingers pointing at the US and Israel, then, to be the perpetrators of the assassination? Aside from the numbered points preceding, Bibi paid a secret visit to Saudi Arabia in the days before the assassination, which was later ‘leaked’. From a source familiar with the geopolitics of the region, Bibi, “wanted to show Iran that he was not alone in the assassination and that Saudi Arabia is also involved.” This was hitting below the belt , which Bibi has no reservation in doing, with regard to the Saudis, as well as Bibi had done with the Obama administration when the JCPOA was agreed in 2015.
US B-52 bombers were ordered back into the region in the days preceding the assassination and the USS Nimitz was ordered back into the Persian Gulf. These were taken as clear signs of Israeli-US complicity in the event, with Iran being warned of ‘dire consequences’ if any US service people were killed.
In all, the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was not the killing of the head of the Iranian nuclear program as the Western media proclaims. Yes, the man was involved with the military, as are many in Iranian society, and this is largely because of sanctions. Instead, the nuclear industry in Iran is well staffed with many highly educated and competent people. Fakhrizadeh’s murder will have little effect on that industry, except for one thing – it will galvanize Iranian society and harden its resolve to defend itself against its two greatest nemeses, Israel and the US. The Iranians must respond, as to wait too long invites other such assassinations, and because the Biden administration will likely be little better than that of Trump’s regarding Iran. But, the Israelis killed a manager, a civilian, instead of ‘Iran’s Oppenheimer’, as much as they hype otherwise to the public.
Now, having committed yet another foreign policy blunder in the region, the Israelis and Washington await the certain vengeance to come over Fakhrizadeh’s murder. The Iranians will be patient and make the perpetrators sweat, as they have been over Soleimani’s murder. But at some point in the near future, that vengeance will come, most likely in a way unexpected and with plausible deniability on the part of Iran. Revenge, as the saying goes, is a dish best served cold. Unless something untoward happens, neither Trump nor Bibi are going to get their little war with Iran.
Featured pic from TRT World