WANA (Jun 20) – According to the official government news portal, Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, Hossein Simayi, has sent a formal letter to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, calling for a strong condemnation and appropriate response to the targeted assassinations of Iranian scientists allegedly carried out by the Israeli regime.

 

The full text of the letter reads:

 

Ms. Audrey Azoulay

Director-General of UNESCO

Madam,

 

It is with deep sorrow that I wish to draw your attention to the heartbreaking news of the assassination of Iranian scientists through terrorist acts committed by the Israeli regime.

 

As you may have been informed, from June 13 to June 16, 2025, a series of attacks occurred on Iranian soil, outside the framework of international law. Tragically, the following scientists were martyred as a result of the brutal and inhumane actions of the Israeli regime:

 

  1. Prof. Seyed Amirhossein Faghihi – Faculty Member, Shahid Beheshti University
  2. Prof. Abdolhamid Minoocher – Faculty Member, Shahid Beheshti University
  3. Prof. Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani – Faculty Member, Imam Hossein University
  4. Prof. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi – Faculty Member, Shahid Beheshti University; President of Islamic Azad University
  5. Prof. Akbar Matlabi Zadeh – Physicist
  6. Prof. Ahmadreza Zolfaghari – Faculty Member, Shahid Beheshti University
  7. Prof. Saeed Borji – Physicist
  8. Prof. Mansour Asgari – Advanced Technologies Researcher
  9. Prof. Ali Bakaei Karimi – Engineering Sciences Researcher
  10. Prof. Ali Bakooi Katrimi – Physicist
  11. Dr. Majid Tajan Jari – Prominent AI Pioneer
  12. Engineer Mohammadreza Zakarian – Leading AI Specialist and Technology Researcher

 

These esteemed scholars were alarmingly targeted in their private homes and martyred alongside their innocent families – an act that is a blatant violation of civilian life sanctity and international humanitarian law.

 

In a particularly heinous act, the residence of Dr. Masoud Shamsbakhsh, Deputy Minister of Science, located in a faculty residential complex, was deliberately attacked. One of his daughters was tragically killed, and another suffered severe injuries to her arm.

 

Equally horrifying was the brutal attack on Engineer Mohammadreza Zakarian, a prominent AI expert, who was assassinated along with his wife and innocent children in their home.

 

With deep regret, I must inform you that this is not the first terrorist assault on Iranian scientists. The assassinations listed above represent the latest in a long line of inhumane actions aimed at eliminating Iranian scholars over the past fifteen years.

 

As you are well aware, the right to science is enshrined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in several other normative documents.

 

This right is a key concept in UNESCO’s Natural Sciences Strategy, which promotes the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications.

 

Furthermore, through its 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers, UNESCO is committed to supporting scientists’ freedom and security.

 

Iran has consistently sought to become a global hub of science. Its nuclear achievements have been entirely within the framework of Article 4 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which emphasizes the right of all countries to peaceful use of nuclear energy.

 

Today, in the face of environmental challenges resulting from excessive fossil fuel use, the need for sustainable energy sources like nuclear power is more pressing than ever. This technology can serve as a vital tool in achieving sustainable development. International organizations, particularly UNESCO, which considers climate change one of its priorities, should support countries in this endeavor.

 

In light of the above, I respectfully call upon UNESCO and you, Madam Director-General, as head of this international scientific and educational body, to issue a strong condemnation of the deliberate killings of scientists and to respond appropriately and proportionately to this grave matter.

 

Please accept, Madam, the assurances of my highest consideration.”