Khaled Yousef and Ikram Kouachi
21 June 2025•Update: 21 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Israeli Channel 12 claimed Saturday that 17 Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed so far amid the ongoing military confrontation between Israel and Iran, now entering its ninth day.
The channel reported that a senior nuclear scientist was killed Friday night in an Israeli strike on an apartment in the Iranian capital, Tehran, along with two other nuclear experts.
The total number of nuclear scientists who have been allegedly killed since the beginning of the hostilities now stands at 17, according to the Israeli media outlet.
The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth identified one of the scientists killed in the Friday night attack as Ithar Tabatabai Kamsha, described as an expert in nuclear weapons, and noted that his wife was also killed in the strike.
Iranian news agency Mehr confirmed that Tabatabai and his wife, Mansoura Haji Salem, were killed in an Israeli strike on their home. The news agency did not provide details about the timing and method of the attack.
Tabatabai, who earned a PhD in nuclear engineering in 2007, had worked for many years in Iran’s nuclear industry, the agency added.
Channel 12 claimed that the targeted apartment was specifically housing nuclear scientists, but provided no further details. The Israeli military has not issued an official statement on the reported assassinations.
Iranian authorities have not responded to the allegations.
Earlier reports by the Israeli Army Radio said that an Israeli drone had struck a residential unit in the central Geisha neighborhood of Tehran late Friday, allegedly killing a nuclear scientist and two of his aides.
Israel has previously confirmed the assassination of 10 Iranian nuclear scientists in separate incidents during the ongoing conflict.
Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
Meanwhile, in Iran, 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
