Iran’s president blames Israel for killing of nuclear scientist

President Hassan Rouhani speaks during his press conference in Tehran, Iran (AP)

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani claimed that Israel was behind the killing of a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear programme in the 2000s in an effort to start a war in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Mr Rouhani’s comments in a news conference marked the first time he has directly accused the Jewish state of carrying out the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh late last month.