Israeli Strike Kills Iranian Nuclear Scientist Ahead of Ceasefire, State Media Reports
The state broadcaster also revealed that Saber’s 17-year-old son had been killed in a separate Israeli strike days earlier on their family home in Tehran.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — An Israeli airstrike overnight killed an Iranian nuclear scientist in northern Iran just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was taking effect, Iranian state television reported Tuesday, according to AFP.
The scientist, Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber, was killed at his parents’ residence in the city of Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh, located in Iran’s Gilan province. The broadcaster cited unnamed sources for the report but provided no further details on the nature of the strike.
Saber, who had been under U.S. sanctions, was reportedly a key figure in Iran’s nuclear program. His assassination marks a significant escalation in the covert conflict between Israel and Iran, even as diplomatic efforts to end the direct hostilities were underway.
The state broadcaster also revealed that Saber’s 17-year-old son had been killed in a separate Israeli strike days earlier on their family home in Tehran.
The killing came shortly before President Trump declared on social media that a “complete and total ceasefire” had been agreed upon by both Israel and Iran. While Iranian officials have expressed conditional willingness to halt attacks if Israel does the same, no formal agreement has been jointly confirmed by both parties.
The targeting of a nuclear scientist in the final hours before the proposed ceasefire raises concerns about whether both sides will uphold the truce and what consequences such targeted killings may have for the fragile peace.
As the region braces for what could be a temporary pause or a lasting end to hostilities, the death of Saber — and his teenage son before him — reflects the deeply personal toll of a geopolitical clash that has threatened to engulf the Middle East.
