[It appears the Americans and British feel that the MOSSAD was up to no good! Well, if the MOSSAD really did knock off Iran’s #1 nuclear scientist then I’ll tip my hat to them in admiration!

When I visited PW Botha in October last year, he told me the story of how the MOSSAD briefed him once in Switzerland. He was pretty impressed. He told me he was in Switzerland and he had to be briefed by the MOSSAD – and they took him into a house, down into a cellar where they told him stuff. Quite wild hey? I never expected to hear of the MOSSAD having “safe houses” in Switzerland… but you never know what those naughty Israelis get up to.

If the MOSSAD did indeed knock off the #1 Iranian nuclear scientist, then once more it proves that tiny Israel can achieve what neither the CIA nor MI6 could. Apparently, MI6 is historically supposed to be even more professional than the CIA. But maybe the MOSSAD is not quite as dead as some people thought. Jan]

Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated by Mossad
By: Sarah Baxter, Washington

A PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist has died in mysterious circumstances, according to Radio Farda, which is funded by the US State Department and broadcasts to Iran.

An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour, 44, a nuclear physicist, had been assassinated by Mossad, the Israeli security service.

Hassanpour worked at a plant in Isfahan where uranium hexafluoride gas is produced. The gas is needed to enrich uranium in another plant at Natanz which has become the focus of concerns that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons.

According to Radio Farda, Iranian reports of Hassanpours death emerged on January 21 after a delay of six days, giving the cause as gas poisoning. The Iranian reports did not say how or where Hassanpour was poisoned but his death was said to have been announced at a conference on nuclear safety.

Rheva Bhalla of Stratfor, the US intelligence company, claimed on Friday that Hassanpour had been targeted by Mossad and that there was very strong intelligence to suggest that he had been assassinated by the Israelis, who have repeatedly threatened to prevent Iran acquiring the bomb.

Hassanpour won Irans leading military research prize in 2004 and was awarded top prize at the Kharazmi international science festival in Iran last year.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to announce next Sunday the 28th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that 3,000 centrifuges have been installed at Natanz, enabling Iran to move closer to industrial scale uranium enrichment.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency say that hundreds of technicians and labourers have been working feverishly to assemble equipment at the plant.

Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd.