The scene of the attack on prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakrizadeh outside Tehran, Iran on November 27, 2020. WANA via Reuters
Mohsen Faakhrizadeh was "father" Iran's nuclear weapons program and has been on Israel's hit-list since 2007.
The Mossad scored a major hit in November 2020 by using an AI-powered remote-controlled machine gun.
According to NYT, it was controlled by Iranian operatives who killed Fakhrizadeh within a matter of minutes.
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For 14 years, Israel had the "father" of Iran’s nuclear weapons program at its top. After a failed attempt 10 years earlier to kill him, the Mossad managed to assassinate Mohsen Fakrizadeh on November 27, 2020.
Their weapon of choice? According to The New York Times, it was a remote-controlled machine gun with advanced artificial intelligence technology that didn't require any on-site personnel.
The New York Times reported that the deadly weapon was a special version of a Belgian-made FN MAG gun machine gun. It was attached to an advanced robotic apparatus.
According to intelligence officials, the device weighed in at around a tonne and was managed by Mossad operatives from outside Iran. This ensured the safety of Israeli agents.
According to The Times, the weapon was smuggled into Iran piece-by-piece in order to reach the country. It was then secretly assembled just in time for the strike.
Israel used a specially-designed model of a Belgian-made FN MAG Machine one. It is pictured here, and was attached to a robot. Darron Mark/Corbis via Getty Images
According to The Times, the Mossad has been following Fakhrizadeh's movements since 2007, and Israeli intelligence agency set up plans to assassinate him late in 2019, after talks with President Donald Trump and other high-ranking US officials.
Fakhrizadeh was an obvious target as Israeli intelligence officials claimed that he was leading Iran's attempts to create a nuclear bomb.
According to The Times, Israeli had considered several methods of assassinating Fakhrizadeh. The Mossad had even considered detonating an explosive near his convoy to force him to stop and then attacking him with snipers. The plan was abandoned.
The remote-controlled machine gun idea was instead floated. According to the New York Times, the computerized weapon was attached with explosives and cameras to an abandoned pickup truck. Iranian agents with the Mossad placed it at a key junction on Fakhrizadeh’s route to Iran.
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After Fakhrizadeh's vehicle arrived on the junction in November 2020, Mossad agents outside Iran used the cameras and positively identified their target to unleash a hail of shots from the remote-controlled machine guns.
According to The New York Times, he got out of his car and was struck with three more bullets that "tore through his spine." According to reports, his bodyguards were confused because they couldn't see the assailant.
According to the newspaper, Fakhrizadeh was only hurt in the killing which took less than 60 seconds.
Although the explosives from the pickup truck were meant to cause irreparable damage to the machine gun, they instead left it largely intact.
According to The Times, Iran's Revolutionary Guards was able to accurately assess that the remote-controlled machine gun, "equipped with an intelligence satellite system" and using artificial intelligence, had carried out this attack.
Business Insider has the original article.
