The Killing of Iranian Scientists

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Israel has killed four Iranian scientists over the course of two years, and it is likely that it has carried out a number of sabotage operations in Iran that we have not heard of, or have heard of only through hints rather than open disclosure. Israel succeeds in penetrating Iranian ranks and in recruiting agents and spies, and it achieves clear accomplishments in this. This is a success we Arabs know well, and we know how greatly it has contributed to Israel’s superiority and its ability to achieve repeated victories in various fields, security and military affairs especially.

These assassinations may not overturn the balance of power, and may not obstruct Iran’s technical and nuclear programs, but they carry an enormous psychological effect on both sides of the conflict: Israel and Iran. Israeli morale rises with every accomplishment their intelligence services achieve against their enemies, and Israelis grow more confident in their governments, their security services, and their army; Iranian morale, meanwhile, suffers a powerful blow, and trust in officials, the security services, and their procedures declines. A rise in morale has a positive effect on the moral level of a nation or a people, and with it, the degree of mutual cooperation and collective work rises, and the index of relationships built on mutual trust among people climbs. This is a great accomplishment that leads to higher levels of production and greater concern for the public interest, and so on. Iranian morale, and the morale of those who wish it well, however, suffer frustration and decline, and with that, the moral level suffers damage, so that the levels of collective work and mutual cooperation fall, and the index of public relations built on suspicion and wariness rises. We Arabs have abundant experience in this area, and it is clear that our enemies’ ability to manipulate us has contributed powerfully to the decline in our morale and the drop in our moral level, and from there, to carelessness about the public interest, the nation’s future, belonging, and loyalty.

…their [rulers], who used to declare, after every strike directed at armies or at military and strategic sites, that they would retaliate at the appropriate time and place. The statements of Arab rulers have always remained a byword for mockery and derision, a byword for the nation’s weakness and its being held in contempt by others. Is the Iranian people now going through a similarly repugnant experience?

It is well known that Israel’s and the various Western states’ ability to recruit agents and spies is great, because of the weakness of the individual in our Arab and Islamic environment. There are many reasons for this weakness, which there is no room to go into now, but what is clear is that Israel can recruit hundreds within a short period, while we cannot recruit dozens over the course of years — if we even try. We Arabs are comfortable with spying being a one-way affair, and we hope the Iranians will not turn out to be like us. In any case, if Iran is unable to respond because of its weak capacity to recruit Jewish or non-Jewish spies to kill Israeli scientists, then its resort to justification and to waiting for the appropriate time and moment reflects negatively on Iran and on whoever has backed it, allied with it, or wished it well.

It matters, on the global stage, for a state to carry out assassinations and destruction in secret, but what is it to do if it is not capable of carrying out actions against its enemies in secret? Should it let the other side strike without reckoning, deterrence, or punishment? States have their calculations if they are serious about achieving results; in Iran’s case, it ought to weigh the consequences of acting openly against Israel against the frustration of the Iranian people resulting from a failure to respond. Israel will continue its series of assassinations in Iran, and will not stop unless it is deterred, whether secretly or openly; otherwise, Iran will remain the loser on the security front, and its government will remain an object of mockery, just like the governments of the Arabs.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “قتل العلماء الإيرانيين” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.