Iran indicts 14 individuals for nuclear scientist's 2020 assassination

Tehran, Sep 26 Ali Salehi, Chief Prosecutor of Tehran, said his office has filed criminal charges against 14 individuals for involvement in the assassination of the country's high-ranking nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

The prosecutor on Sunday added that the individuals have been accused of "corruption on earth," intelligence and espionage cooperation with Israel, collusion with the aim of compromising Iran's security, and acting against national security, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

"Corruption on earth" is a term Iranian authorities use to refer to a broad range of offences, including those related to Islamic values, Xinhua news agency reported.

Fakhrizadeh, who was the Head of the Iranian Defence Ministry's Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research, died from severe injuries in a hospital on November 27, 2020, following an armed attack on his car in Absard district, 60-km northeast of Iran's capital Tehran.

Iran has accused Israel of being behind the assassination.