ANALYSIS: Russia’s Influence In Islamic Republic of Iran Is Spreading
By Kayhan Life Staff
Despite early claims that Israeli strikes during the 12-day war had crippled the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear apparatus, new reporting suggests the program is being quietly reconstituted—with direct assistance from Russia.
On Dec. 7, the investigative outlet Intelli Times reported that recently released sanctions lists still include several individuals long identified as central to the Iranian regime’s weapons-related nuclear work. Among them is Ali Bakaei, head of the SPND—the Defense Ministry organization that previously directed the theocratic state’s military nuclear research. Reports of his death in June, the outlet found, stemmed from a mistaken identification involving another scientist.
The list also names senior officials who continue to occupy critical roles in the regime’s nuclear hierarchy. The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the findings, raising questions about whether the operation to eliminate key nuclear specialists was ever completed.
A Revolutionary Guard brigadier general, who had visited Russia in late 2024 in a delegation of nuclear specialists seeking technology to restart nuclear testing capabilities, now oversees the revival of Tehran’s weapons program, according to Intelli Times. He was recently named head of an SPND-linked front company.
Although the names of the officers involved were withheld, their photographs were published. Intelli Times describes the brigadier general as effectively the second pillar of the theocratic state’s military nuclear effort.
In early December, the Israeli outlet Ynet, citing intelligence sources, reported that the Iranian regime is advancing its nuclear-weapons program with covert Russian technical support. According to the report, a Defense Ministry delegation secretly visited a Russian military-technology firm under U.S. sanctions to acquire “laser technology and expertise” that could validate the nuclear-weapons designs without conducting an explosive test.
The mission was reportedly organized by Damavand Technology, an SPND front company that played a central role in the clerical state’s pre-2003 military nuclear research.
