Iranian nuclear scientists have been sent into hiding after dozens were killed by Israel during its 12-day offensive against Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs in June, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.
The British daily said that over 15 of the surviving researchers, among 100 on an Israeli list, are no longer living in their homes or lecturing at universities amid fears of renewed Israeli strikes. It cited a senior Iranian official.
The scientists have been moved to secure villas in Tehran and along the country’s northern coast with their families, while those teaching at universities were “replaced with people who have no connection with the nuclear program,” the official said.
The move came after Iran executed a man on Wednesday convicted of spying for Israel by passing on information about a nuclear scientist killed during the war with Israel, the judiciary said.
Israeli experts cited by The Telegraph said that researchers ready to take over the work of assassinated scientists were “dead men walking” despite the increased security provided to them.
They added that some of the surviving scientists have already replaced their dead colleagues at Iran’s nuclear weaponization program at the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym, SPND, including scientists with expertise in explosives, neutron physics, and warhead design.
“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,” said Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iranian strategic desk in the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate.
“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,” he continued.
Iran has reportedly overhauled its security protocols for nuclear scientists after Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists in June.
The assassination campaign spurred domestic calls for tighter protection of surviving scientists and their families, as well as for Iran to abandon its stated restraint and openly pursue a nuclear weapon.
Previously, protection of scientists had been the sole responsibility of a single Revolutionary Guards unit, but distrust has led to the involvement of multiple agencies, according to an Iranian official.
“They were all asked if they still trust their bodyguards – some said no and were provided with new ones,” he said to The Telegraph.
Israel killed senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and hundreds of others, striking both military sites and residential areas in mid-June, after launching an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a war during which Iran responded with missile and drone strikes.
Israel said its large-scale assault on the country’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran responded to the attacks by firing hundreds of missiles at Israeli cities, which killed 29 people and injured over 3,000. It has faced continuing internal instability since the war ended and has launched a sweeping internal crackdown aimed at rooting out Israeli spies, dissidents, and opposition figures.