Since June 13, Israel has carried out wide-ranging military strikes on Iran, hitting sites including some of its most important nuclear facilities. More than 104 people were killed and nearly 380 were injured in these strikes so far.
According to Reuters, at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists and several military officials have been killed in Israeli attacks.
Israel’s military claimed it had assassinated nine of Iran’s top nuclear scientists. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), the Israeli army said: “Nine senior scientists and experts responsible for advancing the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program were killed.”
According to the Israeli army, all of the scientists and experts, targeted based on intelligence, played a crucial role in the development of Iran’s nuclear weapons. Their killing, it said, represents a significant blow to the regime’s ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
So who are the top military officials and scientists killed so far?
Military
While 16 were confirmed dead, more than 20 senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other top commanders were among those targeted in Israel’s attacks.
Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri. (Photo/AFP)
Major General Mohammad Bagheri was the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. He was the senior-most military figure in Iran, ranking second only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He joined the intelligence unit of the IRGC, according to Iran's Press TV, and remained active within the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War.
Between 2002 and 2014, he served as the deputy for intelligence and operations at the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He was appointed the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2016. Bagheri was also sanctioned by the US in 2019.
IRGC Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami.
Hossein Salami was the commander-in-chief of the IRGC. He joined the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. He served as deputy director of operations for the IRGC Joint Staff from 1997 to 2006, according to Iranian media.
From 2006 to 2009, Salami served as the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, later on serving as the deputy commander of the IRGC General Staff till 2019. In April 2019, he assumed the position of the IRGC commander.
Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, a professor at Iran's Shahid Beheshti University’s Nuclear Engineering Faculty, was killed by Israel.
Gholam Ali Rashid was the commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. During the 1980s war, he emerged as one of the key military officers, according to local media. He played a significant role in the operational command of the armed forces.
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) awarded the Order of Victor to Amir Ali Hajizadeh (L), commander of the IRGC aerospace force in 2024. (Photo/AA)
Amir Ali Hajizadeh served as the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces. He was instrumental in Iran’s missile revolution. he joined the IRGC’s Aerospace Division after the 1980s war. Hajizadeh played a central role in advancing Iran’s missile capabilities and in strengthening the country’s defensive deterrence, says Iran's Press TV.
Mohammad Kazemi was the head of intelligence for the Revolutionary Guards.
Other military officers killed in Israel’s strikes include: Mohsen Bagheri, Davood Shekhian, Mohammad Bagher Taherpour, Mansour Safarpour, Masoud Tayeb, Khosro Hassani, Mohammad Jafari and Javad Jarsara.
Scientists
Iran’s Tasnim news agency described two of the victims, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi, as “prominent nuclear scientists”.
Iranian nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi, former lawmaker.
Fereydoun Abbasi was a former member of the Iranian parliament. He headed the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) from 2011 to 2013 and previously survived an assassination attempt in 2010.
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi was a theoretical physicist and was the president of the Islamic Azad University of Iran.  He was added to the US Department’s Entity List of actors “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests” in March 2020.
Abdul Hamid Minouchehr was the head of the faculty of Nuclear Engineering at Shahid Beheshti University. He played a pivotal role in shaping the faculty’s educational and research programmes.
Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, a professor at Iran's Shahid Beheshti University’s Nuclear Engineering Faculty, was killed by Israel.
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, was a nuclear engineering professor at Shahid Beheshti University. Minouchehr and Zolfaghari actively participated in national strategic projects.
Amir Hossein Faghihi was a nuclear professor at Shahid Beheshti University. He served as vice president of the AEOI and head of the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute. He played a critical role in developing new nuclear technologies and advancing Iran’s scientific and research infrastructure.
Saeed Borji was a researcher at Malek Ashtar University of Technology, specialising in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering (Solid). He had previously collaborated with Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated by the Israeli regime in 2020.
Limited information is available about Motallebzadeh, another Iranian nuclear scientist targeted in the recent attacks. He and his wife both lost their lives on Friday. Similarly, there is not much information about Mansour Asgari, an expert in physics; Ali Bakhouei Katirimi, an expert in mechanics.
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Source: TRT