Initial Iranian reports have confirmed that at least six prominent Iranian nuclear scientists perished in Friday’s Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, marking one of the deadliest targeted assaults on the country’s scientific and military leadership in recent memory.
Among the casualties were Abdolhamid Minoochehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaqari, Seyed Amir Hossein Feqhi, Matlabizadeh, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoon Abbasi—all individuals associated with Iran’s nuclear development program.
Seyed Amir Hossein Feqhi was reportedly serving as the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and was also a faculty member at Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran. Reports further confirmed that Matlabizadeh and his wife were martyred during the pre-dawn airstrikes.
Military Command Structure Disrupted
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 Severe Warning
Following the incident, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei issued a strongly worded warning, stating that the “Zionist regime” would face dire consequences.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,” Ayatollah Khamenei declared in a statement issued hours after the attack.
The targeted assassination of nuclear scientists is expected to significantly impact Iran’s atomic energy infrastructure and poses a potential impediment to any future negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
As of now, there has been no official statement from Israel claiming responsibility, though analysts observe that the attack aligns with the pattern of previous Israeli operations against Iran’s nuclear and military programs.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi characterized the strikes as a “clear violation of the UN Charter” and affirmed Tehran’s right to respond “with full force.”
