WANA (Jul 08) – On October 20, 2023, the conference hall of a hotel in Mashhad (a city in northeast Iran) was more crowded than ever. A group of professors and students from Islamic Azad University had gathered for a training course.

 

Among the crowd, Fatemeh-Sadat, a physics student, was sitting on one of the middle-row chairs. She had placed her bag on her lap and occasionally glanced at the entrance door of the hall.

 

A Familiar Face Enters: Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi

It was close to 10 a.m. when a man of average height, with salt-and-pepper hair and glasses on his face, entered the hall. He was a familiar figure to many in the audience: Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, president of Islamic Azad University and a full professor of nuclear physics.

 

Dr. Tehranchi was born in 1965 in Tehran. He pursued his studies at Shahid Beheshti University up to the doctoral level and went to Russia for specialized research. In 1997, he received the highest degree in physics from Moscow University.

 

Despite numerous offers to stay abroad, he returned to Iran and taught at more than 40 universities — a person who played an influential role in education, scientific management, and the development of new technologies.

Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, late president of Islamic Azad University and an Iranian nuclear physics Scientist. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Dr. Tehranchi stood behind the podium and spoke of hope for the future — how the enemies exaggerate Iran’s problems to undermine the morale of the youth.

 

He addressed the students, saying: “Why should our young people go elsewhere and work for them? You must stay and work for your homeland and your own soil.”

 

A simple yet impactful sentence.

 

Fatemeh-Sadat, who had been writing key points in her notebook until that moment, stopped writing. Although she was not pleased with the state of society and the prevailing pressures, that sentence etched itself somewhere in her mind.

 

The day came to an end, but this ending was not the end for Fatemeh. In her heart, she wrestled with a recurring question: Continue her education in Iran or emigrate?

Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and his wife were both killed during the Israeli attack. Social media/ WANA News Agency

A piece of news, a shock

About two years later, at dawn on the 13th of June 2025, a news report was published that became the main headline in domestic and international media:

 

“Israel attacks Iran and its nuclear facilities; several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists killed.”

 

Among the names of the deceased, Dr. Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi was also listed — a man who had worked for years, quietly, in the field of education and scientific research, from teaching atomic and molecular physics to serving as the president of Islamic Azad University.

 

One of the highlights of his career was the founding of the Laser Research Institute and the Faculty of Advanced Technologies at Shahid Beheshti University — centers that played a significant role in the development of the country’s peaceful nuclear and defense technologies.

 

Dr. Tehranchi had been repeatedly threatened with assassination prior to this attack. His name had even been added to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s sanctions list back in 2002.

Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s FM. Social media/ WANA News Agency

From doubt to commitment

For many, the news was just a headline. But for Fatemeh-Sadat, it brought back that very sentence she had heard two years earlier. She says:

 

“When I heard the news of the doctor’s martyrdom, I couldn’t believe it. I had been uncertain for years about what to do. But now I am sure — I must continue my education and work in the nuclear field in Iran. I need to soothe the burning wound in my heart caused by the doctor’s assassination.”

 

A wave of scientific awakening among Iranian youth

Fatemeh is just one of the students who, after these attacks and assassinations, made a firm decision to pursue studies in the nuclear field. Many high school students, too, have expressed their interest in social media in entering fields such as quantum, atomic, and nuclear physics.

 

The Reversed Spirit of Iranians in the Face of Threats

A remarkable trait observed in the collective behavior of Iranians is their reverse reaction to external pressures. Wherever there is an unjustified prohibition or threat, a stronger will to advance and resistance emerges.

 

In this case, as well, the opposition of some Western countries to the development of Iran’s nuclear industry — which, if peaceful, is the legitimate right of every country — has caused even those with little political awareness to become sensitive to the issue and to take steps toward achieving it with greater determination than before.

Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, late president of Islamic Azad University and an Iranian nuclear physics Scientist. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Assassination, Sanctions, Threats

Reviews of online social media platforms show that Iranians, whether in the face of assassination, threats, or sanctions, will not surrender; in fact, all these measures have the opposite effect.

 

Experts even believe that if nuclear facilities were to be bombed, they would be quickly replaced due to Iran’s indigenous knowledge in this field. What has taken root in the hearts of the new generation is not blind hatred of enemies but awareness, motivation, and a resolve to build an independent future.

 

It is worth noting that following the continuation of Israel’s aggression, the United States of America also joined Israel’s war against Iran and, in the early hours of Sunday morning, June 22, carried out direct attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

 

This aggression was also met with a severe response from Iran, to the extent that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran targeted the “Al Udeid” airbase in Qatar — the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force and its largest strategic base in West Asia.

 

Finally, on June 24, the President of the United States announced a ceasefire between Iran and the Israeli regime. The Islamic Republic of Iran, while emphasizing that it was not the initiator of the war, declared that if the Israeli regime ended its illegal aggression, Iran would also have no intention of continuing retaliatory operations.