Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi
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Verified Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi was a senior Iranian nuclear physicist and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on June 13, 2025, during the Iran-Israel Twelve-Day War.
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Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani was a prominent Iranian nuclear physicist. He served as the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 2011 to 2013, a period of significant international scrutiny over Iran's nuclear program. In November 2010, he survived a targeted assassination attempt in Tehran when a magnetic bomb attached to his car detonated, an attack widely attributed by Western intelligence agencies to Israel's Mossad.
On June 13, 2025, during the opening hours of Israel's Operation Rising Lion, Dr. Abbasi was killed in an airstrike in Tehran. The strike, which reportedly targeted a secure residential compound associated with Iran's nuclear establishment, resulted in his death alongside at least 13 other Iranian nuclear scientists and personnel.
The strike occurred during the brief but intense Iran-Israel Twelve-Day War in June 2025. The conflict was marked by cross-border missile and drone attacks, as well as targeted strikes on military and scientific infrastructure. Operation Rising Lion was the Israeli military's name for its campaign of airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and missile facilities during this period.
Iranian state media confirmed Abbasi's death, labeling him a 'martyr' and vowing retaliation. The Israeli government did not publicly claim responsibility for the specific strike, maintaining its longstanding policy of ambiguity regarding operations in Iran. International reactions were divided, with some Western nations expressing concern over the escalation while others emphasized the perceived threat of Iran's nuclear program.
Abbasi's death removed a key figure from Iran's nuclear scientific community. His career, marked by the 2010 assassination attempt and his leadership role, made him a symbol of both Iran's nuclear ambitions and the covert campaign against them. He is remembered in Iran as a senior scientist who died in what the state describes as a war against its scientific infrastructure.
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Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi was killed during Iran?Israel Twelve-Day War (2025) (ongoing since June 2025). The conflict is ongoing. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: The Schoolgirls of Minab ? 165 Victims, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, General Abdol Rahim Mousavi, Crew of IRIS Dena (87 recovered, 104 confirmed dead).
