Iranian Nuclear Professor Killed in Bomb Blast

A nuclear physics professor who publicly backed opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the June presidential election was killed today when a bomb-rigged motorcycle blew up outside his home. State media identified the victim as Masoud Ali Mohammadi, a professor at Tehran University, which has been at the center of recent protests by student opposition members. Before the election, pro-reform websites published Mohammadi's name among a list of 240 university teachers who supported Mousavi.

Iranian media did not report whether Mohammadi, 50, was connected to Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability. The government blamed the attack on an armed Iranian opposition group under the direction of Israel and the US. Hardline government supporters, however, have recently called for the execution of the opposition leaders. (More Iran stories.)