Iran sends surviving nuclear scientists into deep hiding

Telegraph

3 days ago

Iran has sent its surviving nuclear scientists into deep hiding after Israel killed more than 30 researchers, The Telegraph can reveal.
Most are no longer living in their homes or teaching at universities, and have been moved to secure locations in Tehran or northern coastal cities, where they live in villas with their families, a senior Iranian official said.
The Telegraph has been shown the names of more than 15 of these surviving scientists, on a list of about 100 held by Israel, whom the Israelis say must now decide whether to continue their work and risk further strikes or find a new career.
'Most of them are no longer living in their houses – they are either moved to safe houses in Tehran or to the north,' the Iranian official said.
He added: 'Those who were teaching at universities are replaced with people who have no connection with the nuclear programme.'
The move comes amid concern, fuelled by Israeli briefings, that further assassinations are in the offing and the execution, by Iran, of one of its own nuclear scientists this week.
Roozbeh Vadi had worked at one of the country's most sensitive and important nuclear sites and was hanged on Wednesday over allegations he had facilitated the assassination of his colleagues during the 12-day war in June by passing information to Israel.
Israeli experts say a new generation of Iranian nuclear scientists now stand poised to take over the work of those already killed and have described them as 'dead men walking', despite the increased security that includes safe houses and round-the-clock protection.
They say Iran structured its nuclear research programme with each key player having at least one deputy, working in pods of two to three to ensure redundancy in case of attack.
Israeli sources fear some of the surviving scientists have replaced their dead colleagues at Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme at the Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym, SPND. They are said to include scientists with expertise in explosives, neutron physics and warhead design.
Israeli intelligence and defence analyst, Ronen Solomon, told The Telegraph: 'The figures who remain have worked on adapting Shahab-3 missiles for nuclear warheads, and are critical to Iran's ability to deploy nuclear weapons.
'While the eliminated scientists focused more on warhead design, the expertise in delivery systems makes those who remain equally strategic targets for Israel, as Israel's June 2025 strikes also targeted ballistic missile infrastructure.'
According to Israeli intelligence, the knowledge that drives Iran's nuclear programme is deeply embedded in the country's universities and academic systems, leading to strikes last month on Shahid Beheshti University and Imam Hossein University, both in Tehran and both associated with Iran's military and nuclear programmes.
Iran has always denied running a nuclear weapons programme, claiming that its nuclear capabilities and expertise was for civilian use only.
Much like Israel's own nuclear programme, which relied heavily on research conducted at sites including the Weizmann Institute of Science (itself targeted by Iran in June), Iran's nuclear programme is broad-based on the academic side with much of the work having dual application.
Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iranian strategic desk in Israeli Defense Intelligence, a branch of the Israeli military, said the remaining Iranian experts faced a clear choice.
'They saw what happened to their colleagues, and as we learned from 2010 when we eliminated the other scientists, it's not changing their way of thinking in terms of their willingness to support the regime.
'Those who are left will be at the forefront of any Iranian attempt to reach a nuclear bomb, hence they will automatically become targets for Israel as Israel has shown in the past. I have no doubt about it. Any scientist that deals with the nuclear issue will be eliminated or will be threatened with elimination.'
Iran has raced to restructure its protection arrangements for scientists since the June war with Israel, in which the US attacked Iran's nuclear facilities with bunker bombs and Tehran hit back with missile attacks on Israel.
Previously, a single Revolutionary Guard unit handled their security, but multiple agencies now coordinate protection due to trust concerns, the Iranian official told The Telegraph.
'They were all asked if they still trust their bodyguards – some said no and were provided with new ones,' he said.
The killings in June prompted widespread calls in Iran for increased protection of surviving scientists and their families – and calls to reverse officially stated policy and pursue a nuclear bomb.
The brother of an Iranian scientist killed in Israeli strikes called for Iran to revise its nuclear doctrine to better protect its scientists.
Seyed Alireza Sadighi Saber, speaking at a funeral for victims of Israel's June attacks, said Iran should withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and reconsider its nuclear weapons taboo.
'If Iran had the will to build nuclear weapons, it would certainly have achieved it within two years, but because the peaceful path was chosen, the enemy began successive assassinations of scientists, commanders and elites to stop scientific progress,' he said.
'These individuals had no military activities and their scientific projects were completely under IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] supervision and within the framework of peaceful nuclear programmes,' he said.
He called on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and others to urgently revise policies for protecting the country's scientists and researchers, saying it was time to move beyond slogans of 'Death to America and Israel' and make fundamental decisions.
His brother, university faculty member Mohammad Reza Sadighi Saber, was killed along with his family in the Israeli strikes.
The victims included his daughter Fateme, 19, son Hamidreza, 17, and eight-year-old daughter Mohia.
Several prominent scientists and researchers, many specialising in nuclear physics and radiopharmaceuticals, were also killed in Israel's June 13 attacks.
Amir Hossein Faghi emerged as one of Iran's leading figures in radiopharmaceutical development.
Faghi led research into medical applications of nuclear energy and appeared on state television in 2022 discussing radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment.
Colleagues compared his work to assassinated nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari, killed in 2010.
The strikes targeted Iran's academic and scientific infrastructure, degrading expertise built over decades in nuclear physics, radiopharmaceuticals, and related fields.