Iran on Monday said that its people expect the international community to condemn "state terrorism" as it blamed Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist last week.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed in an attack on Friday, headed the ministry of defence's research and innovation organisation. He was severely injured in an attack in the town of Absard in the Tehran region and died later from his wounds in a hospital.
The embassy of Iran in New Delhi issued a statement on Monday, asking the international community and independent media to strongly condemn this "criminal and terrorist act" and take necessary measures against its perpetrators and supporter.
Drawing the attention of people of India, the statement described Fakhrizadeh as a martyr and hailed his "outstanding role in different - peaceful scientific projects in Iran, the most recent example of which is development of the first indigenous COVID-19 test kit and vaccine."
"The recent assassination of the senior Iranian nuclear scientist also bears the clear hallmark of the cowardly acts committed by the terrorist regime of Israeli, which has already assassinated a large number of scientific elites in Iran and all over the region," it said.
"Such a dastardly act of terror is a flagrant violation of international rules and moral and humanitarian principles and is committed against Iran which itself has so far been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in order to establish peace and stability in the region and the world. Iranian people expectthat the international community condemn state terrorism and build a consensus to counter tension and adventurism in the region. Iran calls on the international community, particularly the European Union, to abandon its double standards and condemn this act of state terror," it added.
While warning against any "adventurist measures by the outgoing United States administration, Israeli regime and their regional allies", the statement stressed on its "lawful rights to take all necessary measures to defend its people and secure its interests and it is noted that Iran would respond to this assassination at the proper time."
Fakhrizadeh was Iran's most renowned nuclear scientist and his killing threatens to escalate tensions over Iran's nuclear programme with the US and its close ally Israel.
President Rouhani said on Saturday his country would respond "in due course" but that Fakhrizadeh's killing would not push Iran into making hasty decisions.
In an earlier statement, the president accused the "the mercenaries of the oppressive Zionist regime" - referring to Israel - of being behind the attack.
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also called for the "punishing" of the perpetrators of the attack "and those who commanded it", in a tweet on Saturday.
Meanwhile Iranian news agency Fars published details of the assassination, saying no gunman was present at the scene of the crime and the shootings were carried out only with automatic remotely-controlled weapons.
The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)