As if in response to Frontline’s finding that nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi, killed by a remote control bomb last month, was a victim of the Iranian governmet,  The Economist, leans the other way–to the West.

“It is no secret that America, Israel and European countries are seeking to impede Iran’s nuclear plans, overtly and covertly. Yet the assassination theory was widely dismissed. The professor’s known works on particle and theoretical physics did not seem central to Iran’s nuclear programme. And his name had appeared on a list of Iranian academics favouring Iran’s protest movement. So, ran the prevailing theory, Israel or America had little reason to kill him, though Iranian hardliners may have wanted to do so.

But listen to the whispers of Western spies and diplomats, and the Iranian regime may turn out to be right. Well-placed sources in two Western countries now say the professor was “one of the most important people involved in the programme.”

This is lightly sourced but The Economist is veddy conservative and wouldn’t indict Western powers lightly. This remains a most puzzling case.