The Unveiling of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s Car Killed by Mossad

Analysts have speculated that the latest assassination was not meant to cripple the Iranian nuclear programme but rather to put an end to the prospect of the US rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal when President-elect Joe Biden takes office next year. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, saying it was "defective at its core", and reinstated US sanctions in an attempt to force Iran's leaders to negotiate a replacement.

Iran has refused to do so and retaliated by breaching a number of key commitments, such as increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium. Enriched uranium can be used to make fuel for nuclear reactors but also potentially nuclear bombs.