Iran’s FARS News Agency reported today that the widow of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, the chemistry professor and deputy director at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility who was assassinated in Tehran last month, had stated that her husband’s “ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel.”

Whether what she said was, in fact, true, or was simply for the purpose of glorifying Mostafa’s memory is irrelevant. What is of significance is that Iran’s official news agency should have chosen to highlight the purpose of his research with apparent approval.

The report comes at a time when officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency have just returned from Iran and expressed disappointment at the lack of co-operation received in their investigations into the aims of Iran’s nuclear programme.

While Israel is immediately threatened by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, those further afield, including on the East coast of the United States, would do well to take note of yesterday’s Reuters’ report in which Israeli Vice Prime Minister and former Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon is quoted as having said that Iran was working on developing and producing a ballistic missile with a range of 6,000 miles.