assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists

Seven incidents are listed here, including one in which the victim survived, and one where assassination has not been confirmed.

On 15 January 2007, Ardeshir Hosseinpour, a professor at Shiraz University, was initially reported to have died of "suffocated by fumes from a faulty gas fire in sleep".{{cite news | url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/05/content_5696356.htm | title = Tehran denies reports on scientist's "assassination" | access-date = 5 February 2007 | date = 5 February 2007 | agency = Xinhua News Agency | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070208044030/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/05/content_5696356.htm | archive-date = 8 February 2007 | url-status = dead }} Later reports indicated foul play. American private intelligence company Stratfor released a report on 2 February 2007 in which the claim was made, based on "sources very close to Israeli intelligence," that the victim was "in fact a long-time Mossad target."{{cite news|url=http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=283793 |title=Geopolitical Diary: Israeli Covert Operations in Iran |access-date=4 February 2007 |date=2 February 2007 |publisher=Stratfor |url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091010142626/http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=283793 |archive-date=10 October 2009}} (requires premium subscription){{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/821634.html|title=U.S. website: Mossad killed Iranian nuclear physicist|access-date=5 February 2007|last=Melman|first=Yossi|author-link=Yossi Melman|date=4 February 2007|newspaper=Haaretz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206032005/http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/821634.html|archive-date=6 February 2007|url-status=live}}

In 2014, Ardeshir's sister, Mahboobeh Hosseinpour, interviewed from Turkey in a conversation arranged by "The New Iran" opposition group, claimed that her brother was murdered by Iran's Revolutionary Guards rather than by Israel, for refusing to participate in "Iran's nuclear enrichment program whose use was for atomic [weapons] purposes."{{Cite web|url=http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=40909 |title=Iranian Nuclear Physicist Killed by Revolutionary Guard, Not Israel: Sister|date=30 September 2014 |access-date=13 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930073938/http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=40909 |archive-date=30 September 2014|publisher=The Media Line|last1=Friedson|first1=Felice}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-nuclear-physicist-killed-by-Revolutionary-Guard-not-Israel-relative-claims-376656|title=Iranian nuclear physicist killed by Revolutionary Guard, not Israel, relative claims|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313123939/http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-nuclear-physicist-killed-by-Revolutionary-Guard-not-Israel-relative-claims-376656|archive-date=13 March 2016|url-status=live}} According to Stratfor, Hosseinpour died of radiation poisoning.

On 12 January 2010, Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, a professor of physics at the University of Tehran, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle parked near his car. The bomb exploded on the street outside his home in the Gheytariyeh neighbourhood of northern Tehran as he left for work. Two other people were wounded in the blast, which shattered windows in a nearby four-story building, damaged window frames and blew a garage door out of its frame. The BBC reported that neighbors assumed the jolt was caused by an earthquake. Iran blamed Israel and the U.S for the attack.{{cite news|last1=Cowell|first1=Alan|title=Blast Kills Physics Professor in Tehran|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/middleeast/13iran.html|access-date=10 January 2017|work=The New York Times|date=12 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204002712/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/middleeast/13iran.html|archive-date=4 February 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last1=Borger |first1=Julian |last2=Dehghan |first2=Saeed Kamali |date=2010-01-12 |title=Allegations fly over Iranian scientist's assassination |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/12/iran-scientist-assassination-allegation-west |access-date=2023-03-26 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Kintisch |first=Eli |date=2010-01-12 |title=Was Iranian Physicist Killed for His Science or Politics? |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/was-iranian-physicist-killed-his-science-or-politics |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Science |language=}}

In January 2011, Iran announced that it had arrested 10 Iranian citizens who had worked with Mossad to carry out the assassination.{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=James |date=2011-01-14 |title=Behind the 'Mossad plot' against Iranian scientist |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12191203 |access-date=2023-03-26}} State television broadcast a confession by Majid Jamali Fashi, who said he acted on the instructions of Mossad and had been trained in Tel Aviv: "I woke up at 4 and made a call, the plan had not changed. I parked the motorbike near the tree," Fashi said in his confession. Ali-Mohammadi's wife said, "I heard the explosion just when I closed the door."{{cite news|title=Broadcast of the details of the terror operations|url=http://www.mehrnews.com/news/1666603|access-date=11 January 2017|agency=Mehr News Agency|date=5 August 2012|language=fa}} Later confirmed genuine by Western intelligence officials,{{cite magazine |last1=Vick |first1=Karl |title=Mossad Cutting Back on Covert Operations Inside Iran, Officials Say |url=https://world.time.com/2012/03/30/mossad-cutting-back-on-covert-operations-inside-iran-officials-say/ |url-status=live |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202120649/http://world.time.com/2012/03/30/mossad-cutting-back-on-covert-operations-inside-iran-officials-say/ |archive-date=2 February 2017 |access-date=11 January 2017}} Fashi was executed by Iran in May 2012.{{cite web |date=28 August 2011 |title=Iran death penalty for 'Israeli spy' Majid Jamali Fashi |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14702096 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708100657/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14702096 |archive-date=8 July 2018 |access-date=22 June 2018 |publisher=BBC}}{{cite news |date=16 May 2012 |title=Iran hangs 'Mossad spy' Majid Jamali Fashi for killing scientist |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-hangs-mossad-spy-majid-jamali-fashi-for-killing-scientist-7754332.html |url-status=live |access-date=11 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206224034/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-hangs-mossad-spy-majid-jamali-fashi-for-killing-scientist-7754332.html |archive-date=6 February 2017}}

According to Iranian media, Maziyar Ebrahimi was an alleged perpetrator code-named Amiryal ({{langx|fa|"امیریل"}}) Maziyar Ebrahimi was later exonerated and explained eight years later how he was proved to be innocent in an interview.{{cite news |title=The last hope for taking Maziyar's Ebrahimi's right back |url=http://www.hamshahrionline.ir/x6nnS |access-date=20 September 2020 |agency=Hamshahri |language=fa}} Ebrahimi told the BBC that Iran had tortured him into confessing he was a spy.{{cite news |title='Iran tortured me into confessing to be an Israeli spy'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49284659|agency=BBC |language=en}}

File:M.Sh1.jpg, Tehran, Iran.]]

On 29 November 2010, Majid Shahriari, a professor at Shahid Beheshti University was killed by a bomb launched from a motorbike.{{cite news|last1=Staff writers|title=Iranian nuclear scientist killed in motorbike attack|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11860928|work=BBC News|date=29 November 2010|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712080123/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11860928|archive-date=12 July 2018|url-status=live}} The assassins had attached a bomb, detonating it from a distance.{{cite news|last1=Yong|first1=William|last2=Worth|first2=Robert F.|title=Bombings Hit Atomic Experts in Iran Streets|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/world/middleeast/30tehran.html|work=The New York Times|date=29 November 2010|access-date=29 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927012058/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/world/middleeast/30tehran.html|archive-date=27 September 2011|url-status=live}} Shariari's wife, Ghasemi, was a passenger in the car and was injured in the explosion.

"I attached the bomb to the right front door and moved away quickly," said Arash Kerhadkish, who was convicted of assassinating Shahriari. One member of the assassination team was knocked from his motorcycle by the force of the blast. "The motorcycle fell down and one of the riders was injured. We helped him," said Maryam Izadi, a convicted member of the team, under interrogation.

In an almost simultaneous bomb attack, Fereydoon Abbasi, a professor at Shahid Beheshti University, where Shahriari also taught, and his wife were injured. "I had a meeting with Dr. Shahriari at the early morning. ... The bomb was attached to my car at 7:42. We were around the university square and I heard the sound of something colliding with my car and looked back and saw a motorbike. I concluded that that thing colliding with the car was [a] bomb. I stopped at once and told my wife to get out." According to his wife, Abbasi sustained facial and hand injuries.

On 23 July 2011, Darioush Rezaeinejad was shot five times and killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen in front of his home while he was with his wife after they picked up their daughter from kindergarten. His wife was also wounded in the attack.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14263126 "Iran: Scientist shot dead in Tehran"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902030445/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14263126 |date=2 September 2018 }}, BBC, 23 July 2011{{cite web|title=Israel behind killing of Iranian scientist - report|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/648765/israel-behind-killing-of-iranian-scientist-report|website=Dawn|location=Pakistan|access-date=4 February 2017|language=en|date=2 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205181932/http://www.dawn.com/news/648765/israel-behind-killing-of-iranian-scientist-report|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live}}

The attack was described by an Israeli intelligence interviewed by Der Spiegel as "the first public operation by new Mossad chief Tamir Pardo".{{cite news|title=Der Spiegel: Mossad behind Iran hit|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4103182,00.html|access-date=4 February 2017|work=Ynetnews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205191130/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4103182,00.html|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live}} Rezaeinejad's wife, Shohreh Pirani, was also wounded in the attack.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14263126|title=Iran: Scientist shot dead in Tehran|date=23 July 2011|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902030445/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14263126|archive-date=2 September 2018|url-status=live}} "I got off quickly and followed the shooter. After running several meters, I realized that they were shooting at me. I fell down and heard the motorcycle go away," she later said.

Initial reports said the gunmen had killed 35-year-old "Darioush Rezaei," a physics professor whose area of expertise was neutron transport, and who was linked to Iran's nuclear program. The victim was subsequently identified as Rezaeinejad, a postgraduate electrical engineering student at Tehran's K.N.Toosi University of Technology, who was expected to defend his thesis[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/25/iran-denies-assassinated-academic-nuclear-connection "Iran denies assassinated academic worked on nuclear projects"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144620/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/25/iran-denies-assassinated-academic-nuclear-connection |date=27 June 2018 }} by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian, 25 July 2011[https://news.yahoo.com/photos/photo-of-the-day-slideshow-1309242001-slideshow/iranians-carry-coffin-darioush-rezaeinejad-funeral-ceremony-sunday-photo-125105034.html "Photo of the Day"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222919/http://news.yahoo.com/photos/photo-of-the-day-slideshow-1309242001-slideshow/iranians-carry-coffin-darioush-rezaeinejad-funeral-ceremony-sunday-photo-125105034.html |date=4 March 2016 }}: Funeral of Darioush Rezaeinejad, Yahoo News and working at a "national security research facility."{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-undeclared-war-on-irans-nuclear-program/article4210032/ | title=The undeclared war on Iran's nuclear program | newspaper=The Globe and Mail | date=18 June 2012 | access-date=2013-04-12 | author=Koring, Paul | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206084107/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-undeclared-war-on-irans-nuclear-program/article4210032/ | archive-date=6 December 2016 | url-status=live }}{{cite news|last=AP Photo|title=Photo of the Day|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/25/iran-denies-assassinated-academic-nuclear-connection|access-date=4 October 2012|publisher=Yahoo! News|date=24 July 2011|quote=Iranians carry coffin of Darioush Rezaeinejad, in a funeral ceremony, on Sunday, 24 July 2011, in Tehran, Iran, after he was killed in a deadly shooting on Saturday. Iran said the victim was a university student _ not a physicist involved in the disputed nuclear program as state media first reported. Initial reports said a pair of gunmen firing from motorcycles killed 35-year-old Darioush Rezaei, a physics professor whose area of expertise was neutron transport. Several news reports, including by the semi-official ISNA news agency, linked him to the country's nuclear program. But an investigation later determined the slain man was Darioush Rezaeinejad, an electronics student at Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144620/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/25/iran-denies-assassinated-academic-nuclear-connection|archive-date=27 June 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099003,00.html|title=Iran media: Wrong man killed|access-date=22 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505135100/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099003,00.html|work=Ynetnews|date=24 July 2011|archive-date=5 May 2018|url-status=live}}

After the assassination, the speaker of Iran's parliament Ali Larijani stated that the United States and Israel had killed Rezaeinejad. The U.S. government, through State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, rejected the accusation.[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqPViob_8OyoJ_j24JC0gS69npsw?docId=CNG.1c9bc08f90c82172428a633d1b6e8077.8c1 "US denies killing scientist, presses Iran"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226122742/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqPViob_8OyoJ_j24JC0gS69npsw?docId=CNG.1c9bc08f90c82172428a633d1b6e8077.8c1 |date=26 February 2014 }}, AF, 25 July 2011

On 11 January 2012, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was assassinated with a "magnetized explosive" attached to the side of his car on his way to work, on the second anniversary of Masoud Ali-Mohammadi's murder at 8:30 am in Shahid Golnabi Street, Seyed Khandan, eastern Tehran.{{cite news|last1=Dehghan|first1=Saeed Kamali|title=Iran nuclear scientist killed in Tehran motorbike bomb attack|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/11/iran-nuclear-scientist-killed|access-date=4 February 2017|work=The Guardian|date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202131955/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/11/iran-nuclear-scientist-killed|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}}

According to Western intelligence sources, Ahmadi Roshan was "a victim of Israel's Mossad." "In this location, we reached the car and attached the bomb to the car and the bomb exploded near the white fence," said Arash Kerhadkish, under interrogation, as reported by the Mehr News Agency.

{{main|Mohsen Fakhrizadeh#Assassination}}

On 27 November 2020, the alleged head of Iran's nuclear weapons program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated.{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/iranian-nuclear-scientist-assassinated-near-tehran-report-650457|title=Iran's nuclear program chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=November 29, 2020|access-date=29 January 2022}} Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, suggested that Israel was behind Fakhrizadeh's assassination.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-scientist-assassinated-mohsen-fakhrizadeh.html|title=Live Updates: Iran's Top Nuclear Scientist Killed in Attack, State Media Say|first1=Farnaz|last1=Fassihi|first2=Ronen|last2=Bergman|first3=David E.|last3=Sanger|first4=Eric|last4=Schmitt|date=November 27, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 November 2020|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127210300/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-scientist-assassinated-mohsen-fakhrizadeh.html|url-status=live}}

There has been speculation about the identity of the perpetrators. Israel's Mossad was seen by Iran as the most likely candidate. Other suspects included Iranian opposition groups such as MEK, intelligence operatives from Arab countries opposed to the Iranian government, and the United States.{{cite news|last1=Cockburn|first1=Patrick|title=Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/just-who-has-been-killing-irans-nuclear-scientists-8861232.html|date=6 October 2013|access-date=11 February 2016|newspaper=The Independent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118145212/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/just-who-has-been-killing-irans-nuclear-scientists-8861232.html|archive-date=18 November 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Staff writers|title=Israel's Mossad Trained Assassins of Iran Nuclear Scientists, Report Says|url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-s-mossad-trained-assassins-of-iran-nuclear-scientists-report-says-1.411945|date=9 February 2012|access-date=15 March 2016|newspaper=Haaretz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119054514/http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-s-mossad-trained-assassins-of-iran-nuclear-scientists-report-says-1.411945|archive-date=19 November 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Burleigh|first1=Michael|title=An informal addition to the laws of physics – don't work for Iran|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9010007/An-informal-addition-to-the-laws-of-physics-dont-work-for-Iran.html|access-date=9 February 2016|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=12 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314095435/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9010007/An-informal-addition-to-the-laws-of-physics-dont-work-for-Iran.html|archive-date=14 March 2016|url-status=live}} According to NBC, two US senior officials confirmed that the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) was "financed, trained, and armed by Israel" in killing Iranian nuclear scientists,{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-teams-terror-group-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-u-s-flna241673|title=Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News|author=Rock Center with Brian Williams|date=6 December 2014|work=NBC News|access-date=6 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020537/http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/08/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news|archive-date=29 November 2014|url-status=live}} although a senior State Department official later said they never claimed the MEK was involved in the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/24/mek-will-fight-iran-regime-from-new-ashraf-3-base-/ |title=MEK will fight Iran regime from new Ashraf-3 base in Albania |work=The Washington Times|date=26 July 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/09/198470.htm|title=Background Briefing on an Announcement Regarding the Mujahedin-e Khalq|website=U.S. Department of State}}

Iran blamed Israel and the U.S. for the assassinations. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton categorically denied any U.S. role in the killings, a denial called "plausible" by analysts given the reported lack of U.S. intelligence assets in Iran. Israel neither confirmed nor denied its role in the killings. Iranian officials also blamed the British intelligence agency.{{cite news |date= |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_history-assassinations-irans-top-nuclear-scientists/6199135.html|title=History of Assassinations of Iran's Top Nuclear Scientists|publisher=VOA}}{{cite news |date= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/14/iran-accuses-us-britain-scientist|title=Iran accuses US and Britain of role in killing of nuclear scientist|publisher=The Guardian}}{{cite news |date= |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/iran-accuses-british-of-role-in-killing-of-nuclear-physicist-20101203-18juy.html|title=Iran accuses British of role in killing of nuclear physicist|publisher=SMH}} Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's intelligence minister, said the person who planned the killing was "a member of the armed forces" indirectly suggesting that the perpetrator might have been from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).{{cite news |date= |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-60250816|title=Israel's Mossad suspected of high-level Iran penetration|publisher=BBC}}{{cite news |date= |url=https://old.iranintl.com/en/iran/member-armed-forces-involved-assassination-nuclear-official-irans-intelligence-minister|title=A Member Of Armed Forces Involved In Assassination Of Nuclear Official: Iran's Intelligence Minister|publisher=Iranintl}}

In early 2011, Majid Jamali Fashi confessed to the killing of Masoud Alimohammadi on Iranian state television, saying that he had trained for the operation at a Mossad facility near Tel Aviv. Fashi was executed in May 2012. That month, Iranian authorities announced the arrest of another 14 Iranians {{ndash}} eight men and six women {{ndash}} described as an Israeli-trained terror cell responsible for five of the attacks on Iranian scientists. Iran's IRTV Channel 1 broadcast a half-hour documentary, Terror Club, which included "the televised confessions of the 12 suspects allegedly involved in the killings of Ali-Mohammadi, Shahriari, Rezaeinejad, and Roshan, and the attempted killing of Abbasi."{{cite news|last1=Torbati|first1=Yeganeh|title=Iran airs "confessions" in killings of nuclear scientists|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-killings-idUSBRE8750M820120806|access-date=21 March 2016|work=Reuters|date=6 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403133107/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-killings-idUSBRE8750M820120806|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Staff writers|title=Iran: Guarantee Rights of 'Terror' Suspects|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/22/iran-guarantee-rights-terror-suspects|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=22 February 2013|access-date=21 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403183021/https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/22/iran-guarantee-rights-terror-suspects|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live}}

According to Time, Western intelligence officials confirmed the cracking of two Mossad-backed espionage rings by Iranian intelligence.{{cite magazine|last1=Vick|first1=Kar|title=Spy Fail: Why Iran Is Losing Its Covert War with Israel|url=https://world.time.com/2013/02/13/spy-fail-why-iran-is-losing-its-covert-war-with-israel/|date=13 February 2013|access-date=14 March 2016|magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315000223/http://world.time.com/2013/02/13/spy-fail-why-iran-is-losing-its-covert-war-with-israel/|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}} Officials in the Obama administration also reportedly confirmed Israeli involvement. According to Dan Raviv, Mossad officials were "pissed off and shocked" to see their intelligence assets paraded on Iranian television. After the arrests, Iran said it was confident it had arrested all those responsible for the attacks.{{cn|date=December 2020}} Time said that Iran attempted to retaliate against Israel for the assassinations by launching up to 20 hastily-organized attacks on Israeli diplomatic missions around the world in 2012, none of which were successful.

Israel has never publicly confirmed or denied responsibility for the assassinations, and Israeli officials have expressed readiness to employ all necessary means in the nation's defence.{{cite news|last1=Staff writers|title=Iran accuses Israel of killing nuclear scientists|url=http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/56618-150104-iran-accuses-israel-of-killing-nuclear-scientists|access-date=11 February 2016|publisher=i24news|date=1 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301231717/http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/56618-150104-iran-accuses-israel-of-killing-nuclear-scientists|archive-date=1 March 2016}}

Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya'alon said in an interview with Der Spiegel, "Ultimately it is very clear, one way or another, Iran's military nuclear programme must be stopped ... We will act in any way and are not willing to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. We prefer that this be done by means of sanctions, but in the end, Israel should be able to defend itself." Ya'alon added that he was not responsible "for the life expectancy of Iranian scientists."{{cite news|last1=Staff writers|title=Israel behind assassinations of Iran nuclear scientists, Ya'alon hints|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Israel-behind-assassinations-of-Iran-nuclear-scientists-Yaalon-hints-411473#article=10373NUNGNTA2NjIyRjVDMTdGMTk0RDQ1MkQ5RjY1ODRGRjE=|access-date=14 February 2017|work=The Jerusalem Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215022606/http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Israel-behind-assassinations-of-Iran-nuclear-scientists-Yaalon-hints-411473#article=10373NUNGNTA2NjIyRjVDMTdGMTk0RDQ1MkQ5RjY1ODRGRjE=|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=live}}

The assassination campaign against Iranian nuclear scientists reportedly ended in 2013 following pressure on Israel from the Obama administration to stop the attacks during negotiations with Iran to restrict its nuclear programme.{{cite news |last= Buchanan |first= Rose Troup |date= 8 August 2015 |title= Israeli defence minister says he is 'not responsible' for lives of Iranian nuclear scientists following historic US-Iran deal |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-defence-minister-says-he-is-not-responsible-for-lives-of-iranian-nuclear-scientists-10446618.html |newspaper= The Independent|access-date= 24 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160531013401/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-defence-minister-says-he-is-not-responsible-for-lives-of-iranian-nuclear-scientists-10446618.html |archive-date= 31 May 2016 |url-status= live }}{{cite news |date= 7 August 2015 |title= Israel to Resume Assassinations of Iranian Nuclear Scientists? |url= http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199178 |newspaper= ArutzSheva |access-date= 24 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160509072744/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199178#.VxyAU3pc4gR |archive-date= 9 May 2016 |url-status= live }} Mossad officials also reportedly concluded that the attacks were "too dangerous" for valuable intelligence operatives in Iran.{{cite news|last1=Raviv|first1=Dan|title=U.S. pushing Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-pushing-israel-to-stop-assassinating-iranian-nuclear-scientists/|date=1 March 2014|access-date=10 February 2016|work=CBS News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229130204/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-pushing-israel-to-stop-assassinating-iranian-nuclear-scientists/|archive-date=29 February 2016|url-status=live}} The organisation has since reportedly instructed its Iranian spy network to concentrate on finding evidence of Iranian breaches of its nuclear-restriction agreements.

Although Iran ostensibly considers Israel responsible for the 2010–12 assassination campaign against Iranian nuclear scientists, uncertainty surrounds the 2007 death of Iranian scientist Ardeshir Hosseinpour. Hosseinpour was reported by Iranian authorities to have died from gas poisoning caused by a faulty heater, but a six-day delay in their announcement raised suspicions outside Iran. According to Stratfor, Hosseinpour was assassinated by Mossad using radiation poisoning; Iranian officials denied this, calling their scientists "safe." In 2014 Hosseinpour's sister, Mahboobeh, accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of killing him for his alleged refusal to work on Iran's nuclear-enrichment program. Mahboobeh said that she obtained the information from Ardeshir's widow.{{Cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.618876|title=Sister of Murdered Iranian Nuclear Scientist Blames Revolutionary Guards – Not Israel|last=Haaretz|date=2 October 2014|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313115947/http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.618876|archive-date=13 March 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/israel-didnt-assassinate-iranian-physicist-in-2007-revolutionary-guard-did-sister-says|title=Israel didn't assassinate Iranian physicist in 2007 — Revolutionary Guard did, sister says|website=National Post|access-date=13 March 2016|last1=Friedson|first1=Felice}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-accused-of-assassinating-its-own-nuclear-scientist/|title=Iran accused of assassinating its own nuclear scientist|website=The Times of Israel|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313131910/http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-accused-of-assassinating-its-own-nuclear-scientist/|archive-date=13 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Opposition sources in Iran claim that the Iranian government killed Massoud Ali-Mohammadi because he supported them.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18068820|title= Iran hangs 'Israel spy' over nuclear scientist killing|work=BBC News |date=15 May 2012 }}

File:Memorial of Iranian Murdered scientists.jpg

The U.S. government condemned the assassinations without implicating any party.{{cite news|last1=Levs|first1=Josh|title=Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists?|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/11/world/meast/iran-who-kills-scientists/|date=11 January 2012|access-date=12 February 2016|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307081718/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/11/world/meast/iran-who-kills-scientists/|archive-date=7 March 2016|url-status=live}} However, some American politicians supported the killings. Former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich supported "taking out [Iranian] scientists," and presidential candidate Rick Santorum called the killings "a wonderful thing."

Israel Defense Forces spokesman General Yoav Mordechai said that he had "no idea who targeted [Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan] but I certainly don{{'}}t shed a tear." Mehdi Hasan wrote in The Guardian, "These 'men on motorbikes' have been described as 'assassins'. But assassination is just a more-polite word for murder ... How many more of our values will we shred in the name of security? Once we have allowed our governments to order the killing of ... fellow human beings, in secret, without oversight or accountability, what other powers will we dare deny them?"

Historian Michael Burleigh compared the assassinations to the Allied bombing of Nazi V2 rocket sites during World War II, noting that the bombers "were not unduly concerned whether scientists and engineers were killed too, nor foreign slave labourers provided the V2s ceased raining down on London." According to Burleigh, scientists are not abstract researchers; there are "real world" consequences of their actions, and he "shall not shed any tears whenever one of these [Iranian] scientists encounters one of the unforgiving men on motorbikes ... Except that if Israel ventures down this road, I cannot think of much of an argument to prevent Iran following them, and then anyone else who decides to follow."

Paul Koring wrote that the assassinations have reportedly had a "chilling impact" on the Iranian scientific community, making it "more difficult for the regime to recruit anyone [for] national-security research efforts". Koring also wrote that the assassinations, regardless of their effectiveness, "left a real trail of grief". Koring cited Shorheh Pirani, the widow of Darioush Rezaeinejad, who was gunned down in front of his wife and five-year-old daughter. A year after the assassination, he wrote that Armita "still draws pictures of her father. In them, she and her mother always have their mouths open in terrified screams. 'Every day', Mrs. Pirani said, 'she makes that painting.{{'"}}

Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei condemned the attacks, saying "the heinous crimes of those who try to suppress the scientific growth of the Iranian nation have been exposed. But there is no doubt that in the face of animosity, Iranian scientists, professors, and researchers will thwart the [enemy's] vicious plans... The martyrdom of these eminent scientists ... has honored the scientific community." Earlier, the leader had stated that "with their achievements, young Iranian scientists have guaranteed the future and long term energy supply for the nation, and such advancements should not be lost at any cost."{{cite news|title=10 sentences by Supreme leader of Iran regarding the Nuclear martyrs|url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=24908|access-date=31 December 2016|work=Khamenei|date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101002641/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=24908|archive-date=1 January 2017|url-status=live}}

In an interview with Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, former CIA director Michael Hayden said that the most effective method employed to stop the Iranian nuclear program had been the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists. The assassinations eliminated people with valuable knowledge and experience and forced the Iranian government to implement strict security measures such as hunting for Mossad moles, screening equipment for viruses, and assigning bodyguards to scientists, which delayed the program by years, and caused many Iranian scientists to leave the program out of fear that they could be targeted.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-israels-leaders-use-targeted-killings-to-try-to-stop-history/ How Israel’s leaders use targeted killings to try to ‘stop history’]

{{Portal|Iran|Nuclear technology}}

• Assassination and terrorism in Iran
• Assassination of Ali Sayyad Shirazi
• Israel and state-sponsored terrorism
• Targeted killings by Israel Defense Forces
• Dariush Rezaeinejad
• 2020 Iran explosions
• Gerald Bull

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Iran–Israel proxy conflict}}

{{good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassination of Iranian Nuclear Scientists}}

Category:Assassination campaigns

Category:Iran–Israel proxy conflict

Category:Iran–Israel relations

Category:Nuclear energy in Iran

Category:Nuclear program of Iran

Category:Politics of Iran

Category:Iranian terrorism victims

Category:Conflicts involving the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran

Category:People killed in Mossad operations