Shot Iranian said to be nuke expert

VIENNA (AP) — Officials have told The Associated Press that a man shot dead in Tehran last weekend was a scientist involved in suspected Iranian attempts to make nuclear weapons and not a student as officially claimed.

The man was killed Saturday. State-run media initially identified him as Darioush Rezaei, a physics professor and expert in neutron transport but then backtracked, with officials subsequently naming him as Dariush Rezaeinejad, an electronics student.

Foreign officials contacted by the AP have verified that name. But they say that he participated in developing high-voltage switches, a key component that is crucial to setting off the explosions needed to trigger a nuclear warhead. An abstract seen by the AP that he co-authored backs that claim.