Contradicting allegations made by Iran, a report today quoting the sister of Dr. Ardeshir Hosseinpour claims that he was killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) because he refused to help the Iranian regime build a nuclear bomb.

The Times of Israel reported on the charge made by Mahboobeh Hosseinpour:

Mahboobeh said that her brother, Dr. Ardeshir Hosseinpour, was approached in 2004 by special agents of the IRGC on behalf of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wanted to enlist Hosseinpour’s services for a project aimed at increasing uranium enrichment for developing nuclear weapons. As part of the project, he would also be tasked with teaching and supervising Russian and North Korean scientists.

“He was offered a two star rank in the revolutionary guard and ownership of factories,” Mahboobeh told the Middle East news source The Media Line in an interview from her home in Turkey.

Mahboobeh Hosseinpour said that her brother refused to join the nuclear effort “believing they would prove harmful to both the country’s economy and the international community.”

A leader of the expatriate group The New Iran, Dr. Iman Foroutan, said “Mrs. Mahboobeh Hosseinpour’s claims could help support these suspicions” that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear weapon.

[Photo: ABC News / YouTube ]