Iran loses top 14 nuclear scientists in Israeli attack!

At least 14 top scientists of Iran's nuclear program have been killed in Israel's recent targeted attack. Analysts have described the incident as unprecedented. According to them, this is not just an attack, but a brilliant strategy to systematically eliminate the main brains behind Iran's nuclear capabilities. However, they believe that even if it delays the program a little, Iran's nuclear knowledge or capabilities will not be completely stopped.

Israel's ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, said in an interview that the deaths of these scientists have set Iran's nuclear program "backward by several years." In his words, "This entire group is no longer there, it is effectively set back by several years."

Who were the scientists killed? Ambassador Zarka said that physicists, chemists and nuclear engineers were among the dead. Nine people were killed in the first round of attacks on June 13. Many of them were experts in making explosives, analyzing nuclear materials and building weapons. Iranian state television reported that a scientist named Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber was also killed, who had survived an earlier attack but whose 17-year-old son was killed.

What was the motive behind the killing? Analysts say that in a country like Iran, there is no shortage of alternative scientists. “The blueprint will remain, and the new generation will be able to continue the work,” said international security analyst Mark Fitzpatrick. But the attack may also have been intended to instill fear among new scientists. “That was probably the goal — to make anyone in the future afraid to join the program,” said Geneva-based analyst Pavel Podvig.

The incident has sparked a new international legal and diplomatic debate. International humanitarian law prohibits the killing of civilians and non-combatants. But if someone is directly involved in a military program, that law may not apply. “These scientists were working for a state that regularly threatens to destroy Israel, so they could be legitimate targets,” said Steven R. David, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. “But we can’t say for sure from the outside whether this killing falls under international law,” said Laurie Blank, a professor at Emory Law School.

The history of killings of Iranian scientists is not new. In 2020, Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed with a remote-controlled machine gun, for which Tehran directly blamed Israel. However, this is the first time Israel has directly admitted responsibility for such a killing. “If these operations had not been going on, Iran would have built a nuclear bomb long ago,” said Ambassador Zarqa.

Ultimately, analysts say, the assassination will not stop Iran's nuclear program, only temporarily delay it. Rather, it has opened a new discussion in the light of law, diplomacy, and human values. Just as Iran did not openly declare war, Israel also sent a strong message—no one is safe from the nuclear threat.