Because the entire automated setup weighed approximately one ton, Mossad operatives spent eight months smuggling the unit into Iran piece by piece before carefully reassembling it.
By Hezy Laing
On November 27, 2020, Israel’s external intelligence agency, Mossad, assassinated Iran’s top military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, using a highly advanced, AI-assisted robotic sniper.
The high-profile ambush occurred in broad daylight in the resort town of Absard, located roughly 60 kilometers east of Tehran.
Mossad deployed this robotic methodology primarily to avoid the extreme operational risk of a live hit squad on Iranian soil, where previous, simpler assassination tactics—such as magnetic motorcycle bombs—faced heightened security.
Fakhrizadeh was heavily guarded by a multi-car convoy of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bodyguards.
A localized ground team would have sparked a massive firefight, leading to certain capture or death.
This remote system allowed operators to execute the mission from a command center located more than 1,000 miles away.
The customized weapon system centered around a Belgian-made FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun attached to a specialized robotic apparatus.
Because the entire automated setup weighed approximately one ton, Mossad operatives spent eight months smuggling the unit into Iran piece by piece before carefully reassembling it.
The completed robot was securely fitted into the bed of an innocent-looking blue Zamyad, a highly ubiquitous Iranian Nissan pickup truck model, and hidden beneath decoy construction tarpaulins and sand.
The truck was also equipped with multiple high-resolution cameras aiming in every direction.
Because satellite communications introduce a dangerous 1.6-second data transmission delay, Mossad integrated advanced artificial intelligence software to instantly analyze video feeds, adjust for weapon recoil, track the speed of Fakhrizadeh’s Nissan Teana, and pinpoint his exact location.
The operation lasted less than 60 seconds. The sniper fired a total of 15 bullets, striking Fakhrizadeh with absolute surgical precision.
The AI algorithm proved so precise that his wife, sitting just 10 inches away in the passenger seat, escaped completely uninjured.
To erase all forensic evidence, Mossad pre-installed heavy explosives inside the Zamyad pickup truck.
Moments after the scientist fell, the remote command center detonated the vehicle.
While the explosion tore the vehicle to shreds, the blast threw some of the reinforced robotic machinery clear of the fire.
This allowed IRGC investigators to eventually recover the damaged components and piece together the reality of the digital sniper.
