Iran has moved its remaining nuclear scientists into hiding after dozens were killed in Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” targeting Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to a report in The Telegraph.

The British daily, citing a senior Iranian official, said more than 15 surviving researchers — among roughly 100 individuals identified on an alleged Israeli target list — have abandoned their homes and halted public lectures amid fears of renewed strikes.

The scientists and their families have reportedly been relocated to heavily guarded villas in Tehran and along Iran’s northern coast. University lecturers tied to the program have been replaced with faculty members who have no involvement in nuclear research, the official said.

The move follows the 12-day Israeli campaign in June that killed dozens of scientists connected to Iran’s nuclear efforts. Israeli security sources told The Telegraph that successors poised to fill the gaps left by those assassinations are “dead men walking,” even with heightened security measures in place.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)