Iran sends nuclear scientists into hiding after 12 day war
Pictures of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes are displayed in Behesht Zahra Cemetery in southern Tehran, Iran, July 11, 2025 (photo credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/via Reuters)
The scientists are reportedly no longer being permitted to teach or live in their family homes, and are being moved to the capital or northern coastal cities.
After scores of Iran’s nuclear masterminds were killed in the June war with Israel, Tehran has reportedly sent the surviving nuclear scientists into hiding, The Telegraph reported on Saturday, citing Iranian officials.
The scientists are reportedly no longer being permitted to teach or live in their family homes, instead being moved to the capital or northern coastal cities with their families, a senior Iranian official claimed.
At least 15 of the surviving scientists out of a hundred named on a list by Israel are reportedly considering new career paths, fearing further strikes may target them.
“Most of them are no longer living in their houses – they are either moved to safe houses in Tehran or to the north,” the Iranian official said.
He added, according to the report, “Those who were teaching at universities are replaced with people who have no connection with the nuclear program.”
A noose is pictured as supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran gather to protest against the death penalty in their home country and for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be declared a ”terrorist organisation”, in Berlin, Germany, November 14, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER)
The rising anxieties also come as Tehran executed one of its own nuclear scientists this week. Roozbeh Vadi was hung on Wednesday, accused of facilitating the assassination of his colleagues.
The future of Iran’s nuclear developments
Israeli intelligence and defense analyst, Ronen Solomon, told The Telegraph, “The figures who remain have worked on adapting Shahab-3 missiles for nuclear warheads, and are critical to Iran’s ability to deploy nuclear weapons.
“While the eliminated scientists focused more on warhead design, the expertise in delivery systems makes those who remain equally strategic targets for Israel, as Israel’s June 2025 strikes also targeted ballistic missile infrastructure.”
Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iranian strategic desk in Israeli Defense Intelligence, told the British paper, “They saw what happened to their colleagues, and as we learned from 2010 when we eliminated the other scientists, it’s not changing their way of thinking in terms of their willingness to support the regime.
“Those who are left will be at the forefront of any Iranian attempt to reach a nuclear bomb, hence they will automatically become targets for Israel, as Israel has shown in the past. I have no doubt about it. Any scientist who deals with the nuclear issue will be eliminated or will be threatened with elimination.”
