Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the international community to abandon “their double standards and denounce the act of state-terrorism”, referring to the recent assassination of an Iranian scientist.

“Terrorists assassinated an eminent Iranian scientist. Such a cowardly act which has serious signs of Israel’s involvement indicates the bellicosity of its perpetrators out of desperation. Iran calls on the international community, especially the European states, to abandon their double standards and denounce the act of state-terrorism,” Zarif said in a French tweet on Sunday evening.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who headed the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), was targeted on Friday in a multi-pronged terror attack involving at least one explosion and small fire by a number of assailants in Absard city of Damavand County, Tehran Province.

Iranian government officials and military commanders have hinted that the Israeli regime could have been behind the terror attack, vowing harsh revenge against all the criminals involved.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Israel was behind the assassination, citing three US officials.

“One American official — along with two other intelligence officials — said that Israel was behind the attack on the scientist,” the paper said.

“It was unclear how much the United States may have known about the operation in advance, but the two nations are the closest of allies and have long shared intelligence regarding Iran,” it added.