Assassinated Iranian nuclear scientist shot with remote-controlled machine gun, news agency says - CNN

With top Iranian officials blaming Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and others have promised revenge for the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was the country's chief nuclear scientist..

There were conflicting accounts from Iranian news agencies about how the attack unfolded.

One report published Sunday from Fars News said Fakhrizadeh was traveling with his wife Friday in a bulletproof car, alongside three security personnel vehicles, when he heard what sounded like bullets hitting a vehicle, and he exited the car to determine what had happened.

When he exited the vehicle, a remote-controlled machine gun opened fire from a Nissan stopped about 150 meters (164 yards) from Fakhrizadeh's car, Fars News said.

Fakhrizadeh was hit at least three times, according to Fars News.

The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) also reported Fakhrizadeh's car was hit by gunfire, followed by an explosion and more gunfire, citing Iranian Defense Minister Brig.

Fakhrizadeh's vehicle was initially targeted by gunfire, after which a Nissan vehicle laden with explosives was set off in close proximity to them as gunfire, targeting their vehicle, was continuing," Hatami said, according to ISNA.

IRIB, Iranian state television, said the explosion happened first, followed by gunfire from attackers.

Seyed Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, compared the assassination to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday.

Students and young Iranians have converged on several government buildings in Tehran, and at one demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry on Saturday, protesters burned US and Israeli flags and posters depicting Trump and President-elect Joe Biden.

The European Union condemned the killing and called for "maximum restraint," while the United Kingdom's Foreign Office said it was "urgently trying to establish the facts."

The funeral and burial of Fakhrizadeh will be held Monday, Fars News reported.