UAE denounces 'heinous killing' of top Iranian nuclear scientist

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denounced the "heinous" assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear scientist who was assassinated a few days ago. 

"The UAE condemns the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and (calls) on all parties to exercise self-restraint to avoid dragging the region into new levels of instability and threat to peace," the foreign ministry tweeted.

It described Fakhrizadeh's killing as a "heinous crime".

Fakhrizadeh, dubbed by Israel as the "father" of Iran's nuclear programme, was fatally wounded Friday when assailants targeted his car and engaged in a gunfight with his bodyguards outside Tehran, according to Iran's defence ministry.

He later succumbed to his wounds, triggering anger and grief across the nation. 

Read more: Iran to give 'calculated, decisive' response to killing of top nuclear scientist

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has stressed the country will seek its revenge in "due time" and not be rushed into a "trap".

He pinned the blame on "the wicked hands of the global arrogance, with the usurper Zionist regime as the mercenary". Iran generally uses the term "global arrogance" to refer to the US.

The strongly-worded UAE condemnation comes weeks after the Gulf nation normalised its ties with Israel.