By Staff, Agencies Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the assassination of top Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as a “great crime,” vowing that Tehran will at the proper time respond to the terrorist act. "Undoubtedly, this terrorist act shows the helplessness and inability of the sworn enemies of the Iranian nation against the scientific and research movements of our scientists and it is the right of the Iranian government to take revenge on the blood of this martyr from the perpetrators at the proper time,” Rouhani said during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

He expressed his gratitude for Turkey's sympathy with the Iranian people and also the condemnation of this assassination by Ankara, saying, "It is completely clear to us who did the assassination based on the method used and other factors." In the last months of his life, this Iranian scientist spent most of his time finding ways to combat the COVID-19 and completing research to make diagnostic kits for the viral infection, Rouhani said, adding, "The assassination of this scientist was a great crime and an inhumane act." Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani referred to US President-elect Joe Biden’s remarks on the return of the United States to the JCPOA, and said, "We have repeatedly emphasized that if the other parties to this agreement fulfill their obligations, we will fulfill our obligations as well."