Israeli strikes that killed 9 Iranian scientists follows decade-long Mossad pattern of success targeting Tehran's top nuclear minds
The pre-emptive Israeli strike that reportedly killed nine of Iran's lead nuclear scientists Friday isn't the first time Tel Aviv has successfully targeted Tehran's top experts.
Israel launched large-scale airstrikes against Iran on Friday, effectively assassinating some of the Islamic Republic's top military and scientific leaders, saying it had 'no choice' in light of Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and slow-moving talks between Tehran and the US.
Since 2010, the Mossad – the cunning Israeli intelligence agency – has been linked to the precision killings of at least four other Iranian scientists.
5 The portraits of Iranian generals and nuclear scientists killed Friday hangs from a lamppost in capital Tehran.
AFP via Getty Images
The most notorious was the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh — a physics professor regarded by Israel and Western officials as the father of Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Mossad masterminded the killing from outside Iran, through an AI machine gun mounted on a nearby truck. The device zoomed in on Fakhrizadeh's face and fired 13 times as he was driving by, killing him in under a minute, while his wife — sitting mere inches away — was untouched.
5 Mohsen Fakhrizadeh founded Iran's nuclear program.
VIA REUTERS
The attack succeeded despite Fakhrizadeh traveling with a security detail of as large as 11 men.
Before that, a series of targeted killings in the early 2000s followed similar patterns, with Mossad taking aim at the scientists on their way to work.
In 2010, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, an Iranian nuclear physicist who lectured at Tehran university, was killed when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home in northern Tehran as he was leaving.
5 Israel launched hundreds of air strikes against Iran this week, targeting its nuclear capacities.
TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images
Later that year, another nuclear scientist, Professor Majid Shahriari was killed in the capital when men on motorcycles rode up alongside him and attached a bomb to his car.
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the 32-year-old deputy head of Iran's uranium enrichment facility was killed in 2012 in a scenario that mimicked a Hollywood script — when two assassins on a motorbike attached a magnetic bomb to his Peugeot as he rode to work in Tehran.
The strikes this week are believed to have killed at least nine top Iranian nuclear scientists, according to reports.
5 Fereidoun Abbasi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was killed Friday.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Fereidoun Abbasi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran who survived a previous assassination attempt in 2010, was among the scientists slain Friday.
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Iran's Islamic Azad University in Tehran, was also taken out by the Israelis airstrike on Iran's military command center.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his objective was to eliminate any Iranian threat to Israel.
5 Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Iran's Islamic Azad University in Tehran, was killed Friday.
Tasnim News Agency
The US and Iran were scheduled to have talks in Oman Sunday about Iran's nuclear program — but Iran's top diplomat said Saturday the talks were now 'meaningless' following the strikes.
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Newsweek
17 minutes ago
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Israel Sends 'Urgent Warning' for Iranian Citizens To Evacuate
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Israel has issued an "urgent warning to Iranian citizens" to evacuate areas close to Iran's military sites after fresh exchanges of strikes between the two countries overnight raised fears of further escalation. Anyone near areas linked to Tehran's military "should immediately leave these areas and not return until further notice," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post to its Persian-language account on Sunday. Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes on Iran late on Thursday it described as a "pre-emptive" and "combined offensive" on the country based on "high-quality intelligence." Missiles illuminate the night sky during an Iranian missile attack in Jerusalem, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. Missiles illuminate the night sky during an Iranian missile attack in Jerusalem, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean The operation, dubbed "Rising Lion," killed several high-ranking Iranian commanders — including the head of Iran's armed forces — and scientists connected to Iran's nuclear program. Iran's representative to the United Nations said on Friday 78 people had been killed and over 300 more injured. Iran vowed to respond, launching barrages of missiles and attack drones at Israel. This is a breaking story. More updates to follow.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as nuclear talks are called off
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Advertisement Lidman and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
The Latest: Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day
The death toll is growing as Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks for a third consecutive day on Sunday, and Israel is warning that worse is to come. Israel targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel. The region braced for a drawn-out conflict after Israel's strikes hit nuclear and military facilities, killing several senior generals and top nuclear scientists. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also had a warning for Tehran, saying it can expect 'the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces' if it retaliates against the United States. Trump insisted that Washington had nothing to do with Israel's attack on Iran. Israel launched its attacks after weeks of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran over Iran's nuclear program. Iran announced Thursday that it planned to activate a third nuclear enrichment facility shortly after the U.N. nuclear watchdog censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations. ___ Here's the latest: The Israeli military warned Iranians on Sunday to immediately evacuate 'military weapons production factories,' likely signaling that new strikes are planned. Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the warning on the social platform X in Iran's Farsi language. Adraee in the past has signaled other strikes in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Yemen amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. His warning came just after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran would stop its attacks on Israel if Israel stopped its strikes. A bulldozer dug through debris Sunday near a home in the Arab Israeli city of Tamra. The home's third floor was pancaked and nearby buildings were also damaged. Four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed in the strike. 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At least 10 people in Israel were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country's total death toll to 13. At least six people, including two children, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing. An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases. Four people were killed when a missile struck a building in the northern Israeli town of Tamra, and another 24 were wounded. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42 people. New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran's U.N. ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant, in what could be the first Israeli attack on Iran's oil and natural gas industry. Israel's military did not immediately comment. World leaders are issuing urgent calls to deescalate. But Israeli's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.' President Donald Trump said the U.S. had 'nothing to do with the attack on Iran' and warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, have been called off. The Arab Gulf country of Oman, which has been mediating indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place. Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday that the nuclear talks were 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes, which he said were the 'result of the direct support by Washington.' Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.
