An Israeli missile strike in the final hours before last month�s ceasefire reportedly killed a senior Iranian nuclear scientist at the heart of the country�s clandestine weapons program, according to a new report by the opposition-linked outlet Iran International.

The scientist, Mohammad Reza Sadighi, was described as a leading explosives expert central to Iran�s nuclear ambitions. Iran International labeled him �Iran�s hope for acquiring a nuclear bomb,� citing his decades-long involvement in developing the explosive core of a nuclear weapon.

The strike occurred at approximately 1:07 a.m. on June 23 in the city of Astaneh Ashrafieh in Gilan province, northwest of Tehran � less than three hours before the ceasefire between Israel and Iran took effect. Witnesses told the outlet they heard a small plane and a fighter jet in the area shortly before the explosions rocked the neighborhood.

Although Sadighi was publicly presented as a Defense Ministry researcher involved in Iran�s COVID-19 vaccine development, Iran International reported that this was a cover for his real work in the Islamic Republic�s military nuclear program. His family, according to the outlet, was unaware of the true nature of his activities.

A trained nuclear engineer, Sadighi held a doctorate and was affiliated with Malek Ashtar University of Technology � a Defense Ministry-run institution long linked to Iran�s weapons development efforts. He previously led the Research and Technology Center for Advanced Chemical Materials, a division connected to nuclear explosives work, and chaired a chemical company supplying materials for weapons production.

Sadighi�s involvement reportedly extended to advanced computer modeling of explosive tests and simulations essential to nuclear weapons design. Documents bearing his name were among the trove seized during Israel�s 2018 raid on Iran�s nuclear archive, according to Iran International.

The scientist had narrowly escaped death on the war�s opening day, June 13, in an earlier Israeli strike that killed nine other Iranian nuclear experts. Sadighi�s 17-year-old son died in that attack. He subsequently went into hiding at his father-in-law�s home, where he was ultimately killed.

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