Research chief of Iran suspected nuclear weapons program killed in airstrikes
Ali Fouladvand, head of research at Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a successor to the country’s pre-2004 nuclear weapons program, was killed along with members of his family in airstrikes on Borujerd on Saturday morning, Iranian media reported.
Iranian media described him as “an ordinary citizen” while reporting his death, despite SPND’s role in overseeing sensitive military-related research.
Fouladvand had survived an earlier attack during the 12-day war last June, in which his wife, Masoumeh Pirhadi, was killed.
He was sanctioned by the US State Department on October 1, 2025. No images of him have been publicly released.
