On Nov. 27, Iran’s top nuclear scientist was assassinated near Tehran. The country has since blamed both Israel and the United States for the attack.

The New York Times reported that Israel was involved, citing a U.S. official. However, it has not been confirmed whether Washington had a role in or prior knowledge of the attack. 

Nevertheless, the Nov. 27 killing of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh will make reaching a deal with North Korea even more challenging. That’s because North Korea will likely interpret the killing as yet another example of the U.S. backing