ANKARA

Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the UN on Tuesday slammed the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. 

"The loss of a Muslim scientist is a loss to the entire Muslim Umma (world)," Abdallah al-Mouallimi said during an interview with the Russian RT channel.

He urged Iran not escalate the situation as "emotional and spontaneous reactions won't bring positive outcomes."

Al-Mouallimi encouraged Iran to prove goodwill to the international community concerning its nuclear program to "not expose its scientists to danger."

Fakhrizadeh was assassinated Friday on the outskirts of Tehran.

Most Iranian officials blame Israel for the killing, vowing a fierce response.