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Death of 10 Leaders, Including Iranian Nuclear Scientists, in "The Rising Lion" Operation
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Israeli officials have revealed that the air strike carried out by the occupation forces as part of "The Rising Lion" operation early this Friday resulted in the killing of at least ten Iranian nuclear scientists. Iranian media have also named three of the scientists who lost their lives in the attack.
Today, Israeli officials stated that “Israel killed at least ten Iranian nuclear scientists in the attack on Iran.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the operation targeted prominent Iranian nuclear scientists working on developing Iran’s nuclear weapons.
In Tehran, Iranian media reported that dawn raids that targeted the capital and several other cities and provinces resulted in the deaths of multiple Iranian nuclear scientists. Among the martyrs, nuclear scientist Ahmad Reza Dolatfari, a professor of nuclear engineering, was killed in the Israeli attack.
Earlier today, Iran’s official television announced the deaths of two nuclear scientists, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranj and Fereydoun Abbasi, in the Israeli strike. The Iranian Tasnim News Agency also confirmed that scientists Mahdi Tehranj and Fereydoun Abbasi were killed in the attack.
The killing of these scientists was not coincidental or the result of a limited operation. Israel has long pursued a covert policy of assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists over decades. Four scientists were targeted between 2010 and 2012, using magnetic bombs or gunfire in front of their homes, including nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhri Zadeh.
Previous Assassinations of Iranian Nuclear Scientists
Mohsen Fakhri Zadeh: He was assassinated on a Friday near Tehran when armed assailants opened fire on his vehicle, according to Iranian forces’ statement.
Massoud Ali Mohammadi: Killed on January 12, 2010, by a remote-controlled bomb explosion in Tehran. While Iranian officials described him as a nuclear scientist, a spokesperson later said he was a physics professor not officially working for the Atomic Energy Organization.
Majid Shahriyari: Died in a car bomb explosion in Tehran on November 29, 2010. His wife, who was with him, was injured in the blast, which Iran described as an Israeli or American-sponsored attack on its nuclear program.
Dariush Rasaei: The 35-year-old physics professor was shot dead on July 23, 2011, in eastern Tehran.
Mostafa Ahmadinejad Roshan: He died in January 2012 after an adhesive bomb exploded in his car in Tehran.
Fereydoun Abbasi Dweidi: He was wounded in a car bomb explosion on November 29, 2010. He was the head of the Physics Department at Imam Hussein University and subject to UN sanctions, with suspicions of involvement in nuclear weapons research.
These assassinations continue, with recurrent targeting of Iranian nuclear scientists in Israel’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program. This ongoing series of attacks raises repeated tensions between the two countries and highlights the complexity of the nuclear conflict involving Iran.
