Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the father of Iran’s nuclear program, was put on notice in 2018. At a press event unveiling a warehouse full of Iranian nuclear documents stolen by the Mossad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the name of the obscure scientist several times.

“Remember that name,” Netanyahu said. “Fakhrizadeh.”

The Souped Up Sniper Rifle

The Mossad settled on a remotely operated sniper rifle — which a few armies already have. “Israel chose a special model of a Belgian-made FN MAG machine gun attached to an advanced robotic apparatus, according to an intelligence official familiar with the plot. The official said the system was not unlike the off-the-rack Sentinel 20 manufactured by the Spanish defense contractor Escribano,” the Times reported.

Although the gun would be fired by a remote operator miles away, artificial intelligence was needed to compensate for technical problems that would have otherwise doomed the mission.

First, a machine gun’s recoil causes the gun to shake, throwing off the trajectory of subsequent bullets.

Rain of Bullets

The Mossad’s operatives in Iran had set everything up. On Nov. 27, 2020, Fakhrizadeh’s convoy passed the traffic circle en route to a vacation villa in the nearby town of Absard. The gun’s operator could see the target was personally driving the second car in the convoy. Fakhrizadeh eschewed armored cars and personal drivers. According to The Times, the number of security threats he was warned about over the years made him fatalistic.

When the convoy passed the traffic circle, the first car sped ahead to inspect the house in Absard. Fakhrizadeh’s security detail would be in no position to protect its man.

The first barrage of bullets struck the front of the car, and it wasn’t clear if Fakhrizadeh was hit, the Times explained. After adjusting his sights, the operator fired again, hitting the scientist “at least once in the shoulder.” Fakrizadeh got out of the car, crouched behind the open front door, and was hit by three more bullets.