Iran has confirmed the deaths of three more nuclear scientists in the Israeli airstrikes targeting the country’s nuclear programme and military leadership, according to the Tasnim news agency on Saturday.
The scientists – Ali Bakai Karimi, Mansour Asgari and Said Borji – were killed in Israeli airstrikes, it reported. This brings the number of known fatalities among Iran’s nuclear experts to at least nine.
Under international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, civilians are granted explicit protection during armed conflict.
Scientists are generally classified as civilians unless they are directly participating in combat operations.
Targeted killings outside those specific conditions may constitute a violation of the laws of war.
Israeli launched a large-scale attack on Iran early on Friday. Tehran has retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles and drone attacks. Both sides have reported casualties.
Despite growing international pressure for de-escalation, neither side appears willing to step back from the conflict as it enters its second day.