“Fakhrizadeh was traveling with his wife 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 got out, a remote-controlled machine gun opened fire from a Nissan stopped about 150 meters (164 yards) from Fakhrizadeh’s car.” Iran’s chief nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was reportedly killed with a remote-controlled machine gun.

+ “It was the latest in a decade-long pattern of mysterious poisonings, car bombings, shootings, thefts and sabotage that have afflicted the Islamic Republic. Most have hit largely anonymous scientists or secretive facilities believed to be linked to its nuclear program, and almost all have been attributed by both American and Iranian officials to Tehran’s great nemesis, Israel. Israeli officials — without formally acknowledging responsibility — have all but openly gloated over the repeated success of their spies. Never, however, has the Islamic Republic endured a spate of covert attacks quite like in 2020.” NYT: Brazen Killings Expose Iran’s Vulnerabilities as It Struggles to Respond. (The timing of this killing suggests it could have been carried out to make it more difficult for Joe Biden to return to the diplomacy-focused efforts of the Obama era.)