Paranoia and purges put Russian, Iranian nuclear engineering in crosshairs

Global Watch | 2025-08-19

The Russo-Iranian scientific alliance is fracturing under the weight of direct conflict and the systematic dismantling of its intellectual core. This decline is evident in the loss of academic talent and the purging of key figures in missile and nuclear research. A pattern of quiet removals, suspicious deaths, and disappearances further underscores this erosion.

In Iran, fear permeates the scientific community. Aspiring aerospace and nuclear engineers face a climate of paranoia, with institutions like the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) offering coercive employment and minimal safety.

The assassinations of scientists like Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, Ali Bakouei Ketrimi, Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, Seyed Amir Hossein Feghhi, Mansour Asgari, Akbar Mottalibizadeh, Saeed Borji Kazeruni, Mohammadreza Seddighi Saber and Seyed Asghar Hashemitabr during Israel's Operation Narnia highlight the perilous nature of state-sponsored programs.

Once prestigious universities, such as Sharif University of Technology and Malek-Ashtar University, are now viewed as potential traps. The sidelining and disappearance of scientists with dual expertise in academia and defense have severed critical mentorship pipelines.

Risky projects

Russia mirrors this decline. Arrests, resignations and unexplained disappearances deplete its scientific ranks.

The arrest of hypersonics expert Dr. Anatoly Maslov, along with the detentions of physicists Dr. Dmitry Kolker and Dr. Alexander Shiplyuk, underscores the risks faced by researchers involved in sensitive projects.

These arrests suggest a campaign of internal culling driven by paranoia and the need for scapegoats. This trend has disrupted collaborative ventures and informal knowledge-sharing networks, hindering bilateral knowledge transfer.

The resulting fear has made participation in military-technical programs a professional hazard. Institutions like the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, traditionally linked to the military-industrial complex, are now producing graduates who face a choice: loyalty, silence or exile.

This loss of expertise is fueled by a Iranian engineers, facing low pay, surveillance, assassination threats and better opportunities abroad. In Russia, resignations and retirements, driven by institutional paranoia and budget cuts, further erode the scientific workforce. The scientific experts exodus has left both nations struggling to replace lost talent, impacting joint weapons development initiatives now characterized by delays, distrust and dysfunction.

Beyond the headlines, a quieter war targets engineering students. Recruitment for missile and nuclear programs, once prestigious, is now viewed as high-risk, low-reward.

Students in elite institutions increasingly self-censor and consider emigration. Mandatory state service, particularly in Iran, further complicates career choices. As program failures mount and internal distrust grows, many abandon defense-related careers.

While the Kremlin and Tehran publicly tout their cooperation, the underlying scientific ecosystems are collapsing. The loss of engineers and researchers represents a strategic vulnerability, sending a chilling message to the next generation. The Iran-Russia weapons pact is not just a collaboration -- it's a meat-grinder.