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A top Iranian scientist believed to be responsible for developing the country's military nuclear program has been killed, Iranian state television said Friday.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed while in a car just outside the capital of Tehran by attackers using explosives and machine guns, the state media said, describing the assailants as "armed terrorist elements." The scientist was rushed to a local hospital where doctors were unable to revive him. Iran's defense minister has confirmed his death, Iran's Fars News Agency reported.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but some Iranian officials said they believe Israel played a role. "Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientists today," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter. "This cowardice — with serious indications of Israeli role — shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators."

The Israeli government had no immediate comment on Fakhrizadeh's killing.