The death of a leading scientist in Iran has turned into a whodunit of epic proportions online as people pose theories and opinions, ranging from the wildly plausible to the bizarre. To give a bit of context, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear scientist was killed on Friday in an apparent assassination that the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif linked to Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif has called the death "cowardice -- with serious indications of Israeli role."
US President Donald Trump retweeted a tweet from the prominent Israeli journalist Yossi Melman that read, "Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi assassinated in Damavand, east of Tehran according to reports in Iran. He was head of Iran's secret military program and wanted for many years by Mossad. His death is a major psychological and professional blow for Iran."
And with these allegations around, Twitter is now trending "Mossad" - the national intelligence agency of Israel - as netizens air out their theories, or in some problematic tweets, express their admiration. We feel compelled to mention here that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has reportedly not commented on the incident and at present there is no official report that back the claims online.
That however has never been a deterrent for Twitter. And on Saturday morning, the internet saw hundreds of people condemning Mossad, even as others took this several steps further and involved President Trump. Others still linked the intelligence agency to other historical events, including the assassination of President JF Kennedy. One user wanted Iran to "take a cue from North Korea" and develop nuclear weapons "as a deterrent".
While we had to leave out several tweets for their problematic content, scroll down to see what some social media users think about the incident. Do keep in mind however that these claims have not been substantiated officially. Further details are awaited to confirm or deny a possible role played by Israel in the assassination.
Meanwhile, take a look:
