This post was originally published on here
As preparations for a broader military confrontation neared completion, Israel quietly launched one of the most consequential covert operations in the long shadow war with Iran: the systematic targeting of the country’s top nuclear scientists. A joint investigation by the Washington Post and PBS Frontline has uncovered new details about Operation Narnia, the assassination campaign aimed at dismantling what Israeli and U.S. intelligence officials described as Iran’s nuclear “brain trust.”
According to the Washington Post, Israeli planners concluded that airstrikes alone would only temporarily disrupt Iran’s sprawling nuclear infrastructure. To achieve lasting impact, they believed it was necessary to eliminate the scientists capable of rebuilding and advancing the program. In the early hours of June 13, as Israel’s 12-day war with Iran began, precision strikes hit residential buildings across Tehran, killing senior nuclear physicists and engineers in their homes.
Among the first killed was Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a theoretical physicist under U.S. sanctions, who died in his apartment in a residential complex known as the Professors Complex. Hours later, Fereydoun Abbasi, a former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization who had survived an earlier assassination attempt in 2010, was also killed. Israeli officials said that 11 senior nuclear scientists were assassinated on June 13 and in the days that followed.
The Washington Post reports that the attacks marked a sharp escalation from Israel’s earlier covert actions, which relied on deniability through tactics such as car bombings and remote-controlled weapons. This time, Israel acted openly, emboldened by its recent military successes against Iranian proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. An Israeli air force general involved in the planning told the Post that Israel finally had an “operational opportunity” to act decisively.
The broader Israeli and U.S. assault on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure reverberated across the Middle East, collapsing diplomatic efforts to restrain Tehran’s nuclear program and prompting vows of retaliation from Iranian leaders. While U.S., Israeli, and International Atomic Energy Agency officials told the Washington Post that Iran’s nuclear efforts have likely been set back by years, they cautioned that the program was not completely destroyed, contradicting claims that it had been fully obliterated.
The investigation details the depth of Israel’s intelligence preparation. Analysts reportedly compiled a list of 100 key Iranian nuclear scientists, eventually narrowing it to roughly a dozen priority targets. Dossiers were built using decades of surveillance, mapping scientists’ work, movements, and family lives. Despite efforts to minimize civilian harm, the Post and investigative outlet Bellingcat verified at least 71 civilian casualties in strikes linked to the assassination campaign, including children.
One particularly devastating strike killed the teenage son of scientist Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber when the intended target was not at home. Days later, Saber himself was killed during a mourning ceremony for his son, alongside other relatives. The Washington Post verified multiple civilian deaths in that attack, highlighting the human toll of the operation.
Israeli officials insisted to the Post that limiting civilian casualties was a core consideration in the planning of Operation Narnia, while Iran accused Israel of indiscriminate violence. Iranian authorities later said more than 1,000 people were killed during the conflict, including hundreds of civilians, while Israeli officials said Iranian retaliation killed 31 Israelis.
Beyond assassinations, the Washington Post reports that Israel’s broader campaign, known as Rising Lion, involved extensive airstrikes, drones, cyber operations, and the deployment of sleeper agents inside Iran. Mossad reportedly mobilized more than 100 Iranian operatives, some equipped with specialized weapons, to sabotage missile launchers and air defenses ahead of Israeli air operations. U.S. forces later joined the assault with stealth bombers and cruise missiles.
The investigation also sheds light on the diplomatic deception surrounding the conflict. Even as Israeli leaders finalized plans to strike, the Trump administration publicly signaled a preference for negotiations, giving Iran the impression that diplomacy remained viable. According to sources cited by the Washington Post, these diplomatic overtures were part of a deliberate effort to keep Tehran off guard until military action began.
Despite the scale of the operation, Iranian officials remain defiant. Family members of the slain scientists told Frontline that while individuals can be killed, knowledge cannot be erased. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told PBS Frontline that Iran’s nuclear program could never truly be destroyed, arguing that once a technology is discovered, it cannot be taken away.
The Washington Post–PBS Frontline investigation concludes that while Israel’s campaign dealt a severe blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, it also entrenched a cycle of escalation that has reshaped the regional balance of power. With Iran rebuilding underground facilities and vowing to press ahead, the long-term consequences of Operation Narnia remain uncertain, even as its immediate impact has altered the trajectory of Iran’s nuclear path.
