At least six prominent Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in Friday's Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, as confirmed by initial Iranian reports, marking one of the deadliest targeted attacks on the country’s scientific and military leadership in recent history.
Among those killed were Abdolhamid Minoochehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaqari, Seyed Amir Hossein Feqhi, Matlabizadeh, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoon Abbasi — all affiliated with Iran’s nuclear development program.
Seyed Amir Hossein Feqhi was reportedly serving as deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and was also a faculty member at the Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran. Reports also confirmed that Matlabizadeh was martyred alongside his wife during the pre-dawn airstrikes.
Military command structure shaken
The strikes also claimed the lives of Iran’s top military leadership, including Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces; Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); and Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, head of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters.
The attack, widely condemned across Iranian media, is being described as one of the most coordinated and lethal assaults on the Iranian capital in decades. Tehran has not yet released the full death toll but confirmed that both military installations and civilian areas were targeted.
Khamenei issues stern warning
Following the incident, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei issued a strongly worded warning, stating that the “Zionist regime” will face dire consequences.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a statement issued hours after the attack.
The targeted killing of nuclear scientists is expected to significantly impact Iran’s atomic energy infrastructure and poses a potential roadblock to any future negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
As of now, there has been no official statement from Israel claiming responsibility, though analysts note the attack fits the pattern of previous Israeli operations against Iran’s nuclear and military programs.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the strikes as a “clear violation of the UN Charter” and affirmed Tehran’s right to respond “with full force.”
