Israel has confirmed the targeted killing of at least 14 scientists involved in Iran’s nuclear program—an extraordinary blow to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions that experts say may significantly delay, but not eliminate, its progress.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka said the deaths make it “almost impossible” for Iran to continue building nuclear weapons, especially following nearly two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and U.S. bunker-busting bombs.Nearby concert tickets
“The fact that the whole group disappeared is basically throwing back the program by quite a number of years,” Zarka stated.
However, nuclear experts argue that while the strikes deal a blow, Iran’s scientific infrastructure remains resilient. Western governments stress that military action alone cannot dismantle Iran’s accumulated nuclear knowledge.
“Strikes cannot destroy the knowledge Iran has acquired over several decades, nor any regime ambition to deploy that knowledge to build a nuclear weapon,” said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy during remarks to Parliament.
Israel kills at least 14 Iranian Nuclear scientists in unprecedented targeted strikes
According to Zarka, the strikes eliminated 14 senior scientists—including physicists, chemists, and engineers—who were directly involved in weapon design and production. Israel’s military said nine of the scientists were killed during the initial wave of airstrikes on June 13 and had “decades of accumulated experience” in nuclear weapons development.
Iranian state television later reported the death of another key figure, Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber, who was killed in a second Israeli strike after surviving a previous attack that claimed the life of his 17-year-old son.
The killings appear to be intended not only to halt nuclear work but also to deter others from participating in future efforts.
“Blueprints will be around, and the next generation of Ph.D. students will figure it out,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, former U.S. diplomat and nuclear expert. “Killing scientists and bombing facilities will set the program back further—but it can and will be reconstituted.”
Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based nuclear analyst, said the key to any nuclear program is access to enriched material. “Once you have the material, the rest is reasonably well-known,” he said, suggesting the killings are meant to instill fear.
“But then the question becomes: where do you stop? Do you start targeting students who study physics?” Podvig warned. “It’s a very slippery slope.”
Ambassador Zarka agreed the attacks could serve as a powerful deterrent. “I do think that people asked to join a future nuclear weapons program in Iran will think twice.”
Israel has long been suspected of covertly targeting Iranian nuclear scientists, though this marks one of the few times it has claimed responsibility. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for the assassination of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun.
“Those setbacks have collectively delayed Iran’s nuclear program,” Zarka said. “Every one of these incidents pushed the program back a little further.”
Still, not all analysts believe these tactics are effective long-term.
“It’s more symbolic than strategic,” said Lova Rinel, an analyst with the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. “It delays the program, but it doesn’t end it.”
International humanitarian law prohibits the deliberate killing of civilians and non-combatants. However, legal scholars note that such protections may not apply to individuals directly participating in military or nuclear weapons programs.
Whether these targeted assassinations fall within international legal boundaries remains a topic of ongoing debate, but for now, the strikes have escalated tensions and introduced a new dimension to the Israel-Iran conflict.
