Inside Operation Narnia: Israel's shadow war on Iran's nuclear programme

Israel carried out a campaign of targeted killings against Iranian nuclear scientists in June as part of a broader military operation aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear programme and military infrastructure, according to accounts from officials, media investigations and open-source researchers.

The assassination effort, known as Operation Narnia, formed part of a wider 12-day assault referred to by Israeli officials as Operation Rising Lion. The campaign focused on what Israeli and US intelligence agencies described as Iran's core group of nuclear engineers and physicists involved in weapons-related research, says the Washington Post.

The operation began at about 3:21 am on 13 June, when Israeli weapons struck residential buildings in Tehran, according to the accounts. Israel has said 11 senior Iranian nuclear scientists were killed on 13 June and in the days that followed.

Those killed included Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a theoretical physicist and explosives specialist, and Fereydoun Abbasi, a nuclear physicist who previously headed Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. Both men had been under US sanctions for their alleged role in Iran's nuclear weapons work.

Israeli intelligence planning for the campaign involved narrowing a list of about 100 scientists to roughly a dozen priority targets, based on dossiers compiled through decades of intelligence collection, according to the reports. Unlike earlier covert operations attributed to Israel, such as magnetic bomb attacks or remote-controlled weapons, Israel's role in the June strikes was openly acknowledged.

The assassinations took place alongside extensive Israeli and US military strikes across Iran. Israeli warplanes and drones targeted ballistic missile launchers, air defence systems and senior military leadership, including figures from Iran's regular armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. US forces later joined the campaign using B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Israeli intelligence agency Mossad mobilised more than 100 Iranian agents trained in Israel, who carried out ground operations near Tehran ahead of the air campaign, according to the accounts.

Investigations by The Washington Post, PBS "Frontline" and open-source research group Bellingcat verified 71 civilian deaths in five strikes that targeted nuclear scientists. Among them were 10 civilians, including a two-month-old infant, killed in a strike on a residential complex known as the Professors Complex.

In another case, a 17-year-old son of scientist Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber was killed in a strike on his family home while Saber was not present. Saber was later killed at a relative's house hundreds of kilometres from Tehran, in an attack that also killed 15 civilians, including four minors, according to the investigations.

The decision to launch the campaign followed the 7 Oct 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, as well as subsequent setbacks for Iran's regional allies, including Hezbollah and the collapse of the Syrian government in late 2024, according to the accounts.

Diplomatic efforts with Iran continued in parallel. A 60-day ultimatum issued by US President Donald Trump expired on 12 June, while a new round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for 15 June went ahead as planned, which officials later described as an effort to keep Iran off guard.

After hostilities began, the United States privately presented Iran with a proposal calling for an end to support for regional proxies and the replacement of uranium enrichment facilities, in exchange for the lifting of "ALL sanctions." Iran rejected the proposal, after which Trump authorised US strikes, according to the accounts.

Israeli, US and International Atomic Energy Agency officials have said the damage to Iran's nuclear programme was extensive, setting it back by years. The Natanz enrichment facility was destroyed, parts of the Isfahan nuclear research complex were severely damaged and the Fordow site was heavily hit, they said.

Iran has said its nuclear programme cannot be eliminated because the scientific knowledge remains. It retains a stockpile of nearly 900 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. Since the conflict ended, satellite imagery shows Iran increasing construction at an underground site south of Natanz known as Pickaxe Mountain.