Seven Iranian Nuclear Scientists Killed by Israel: A Complete List
Tensions in the Middle East escalated after Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, 28 February 2026. The Israeli government directly announced it had conducted preliminary strikes against Iran on Saturday local time.
The conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel has persisted for decades, claiming numerous lives. Beyond military officials, Iranian scientists have also been killed.
A series of incidents since 2010 has seen several Iranian nuclear scientists killed in assassinations allegedly carried out by Israel in efforts to obstruct Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The following is a list of Iranian nuclear scientists killed by Israel:
- Fereydoon Abbasi
Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani was an Iranian nuclear engineer and member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who served as Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran from 2011 to 2013. He was known as a conservative figure and also served as a member of the Iranian parliament. Abbasi was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 13 June 2025. Previously, in 2010, he survived an assassination attempt also linked to tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Abbasi directly contributed to the development of Iran’s nuclear programme. He openly defended the programme as a peaceful endeavour and part of Iran’s national sovereignty. In an interview in 2012, Abbasi even acknowledged that Iran had deliberately concealed or manipulated certain information to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western intelligence. He stated that Iran sometimes “showed weakness when actually strong, and showed strength when actually weak”.
- Saeed Borji
Saeed Borji was an Iranian physicist and nuclear engineer involved in the country’s nuclear programme. He obtained a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Malek-Ashtar University of Technology and was known as one of the senior scientists in Iran’s strategic defence technology development circles. Borji was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Iran in June 2025.
In March 2019, the United States Department of Treasury imposed sanctions against Borji for his alleged role in developing defence equipment for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Various reports indicated he possessed expertise in explosive materials and defence technology, and was suspected of involvement in nuclear weapons research projects. Israeli media claimed Borji played a role in designing nuclear weapon detonators, though Iranian sources denied this.
Beyond his work in the strategic sector, Borji was reportedly active in academia and knowledge transfer, and had previously founded a petrochemical company before eventually being added to the US sanctions list.
- Ahmadreza Zolfaghari Daryani
Ahmadreza Zolfaghari Daryani was an Iranian nuclear physics professor and Dean of the Faculty of Nuclear Science at Shahid Beheshti University. He was known for specialising in nuclear engineering applications, with research contributions in reactor physics and fuel cycle technology.
Zolfaghari also authored numerous scientific publications, including work on nuclear fuel management optimisation models. His research was considered aligned with the state-supported nuclear programme. Various Western intelligence agencies have suggested the programme has potential military dimensions, though Tehran insists it is intended for civilian purposes.
Zolfaghari was killed in an Israeli airstrike in June 2025, in an operation described as targeting senior personnel in Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The Israeli military identified him as an expert with strategic expertise, describing his elimination as part of efforts to disrupt capacities deemed related to weapons development.
- Abdolhamid Minouchehr
Abdolhamid Minouchehr was an Iranian physicist and nuclear engineer who served as Head of the Faculty of Nuclear Engineering at Shahid Beheshti University. He was recognised as a senior academic who played a role in developing nuclear engineering education and research in Iran, including strengthening human resources capacity in the sector.
Minouchehr was killed in an Israeli strike on Iran in June 2025. Iranian media reports indicated he was killed when a strike hit his residence. Government-affiliated Iranian media claimed the strike also killed family members, characterising it as a targeted operation against figures deemed to promote Iran’s nuclear independence.
Israel described the strike as part of a major operation to weaken Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity and address what it characterised as serious threats to Israel, without providing detailed explanation of specific targets.
- Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi was an Iranian theoretical physicist and nuclear scientist widely recognised in academic circles. He was a professor at the Laser and Plasma Research Institute and the Department of Physics at Shahid Beheshti University.
Additionally, he served as a member of the supervisory board and President of Islamic Azad University, and previously served as rector at several campuses of that university as well as at Shahid Beheshti University.
Tehranchi was killed in an Israeli strike on Iran on 13 June 2025. Throughout his career, he was recognised as an expert in advanced physics fields including Faraday rotation, molecular magnets, phase transitions and Rydberg atoms.
In 2018, he delivered a science policy address before Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, emphasising the importance of science in strengthening national sovereignty and countering Western pressure.
He also authored several important books, including Introduction to Magnetic Materials, widely used as a reference by physics and materials engineering students in Iran, as well as works on the direction and future of Iran’s national science development.
- Seyyed Amir Hosse
[Note: The article appears to be incomplete, with the sixth scientist’s entry truncated and no seventh scientist listed in the provided text.]