Who is the creator of Khamenei's atomic bomb

Source: Iran International

Date: August 11, 2025

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With the impasse of negotiations between Iran and the United States and the reduction of initial optimism, the possibility of a complete failure of the talks has become more than before. If the two sides do not withdraw from their positions, the risk of war and direct attack by the United States and Israel will increase.

Ali Khamenei insists on maintaining a uranium enrichment program, while the United States has made it clear that it will not allow it.

The United States believes that any amount of uranium enrichment will bring the Islamic Republic one step closer to the ability to build a nuclear weapon, but if the Islamic Republic really wants to produce such a weapon, what is its path? What has been done in the past and who has played a key role in this project?

Amad project: A hidden attempt to build a nuclear weapon

The so-called Amad project is the secret project of the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear weapons, which, according to US intelligence agencies, has been started since 1382. With the disclosure of the program and international pressures, the project was apparently halted, but evidence suggests that activities have continued in the form of new structures.

One of the figures who had been suspected of leading the program from the beginning was Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the IRGC's chief commander. Fakhrizadeh's name was first introduced after a laptop containing the Islamic Republic's confidential information was put into the hands of Western intelligence services.

In 1389, he established an institution called the "New Defense Research Organization" (Sepand) under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense.

According to Western assessments, Sepand was a place to integrate various elements of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, including the design of warheads, transport systems and explosions.

In 1990, Reuters reported that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was at the heart of Iran’s military nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also described him as a key figure in efforts related to nuclear weapons technology. The report made the name of Fakhrizadeh officially mentioned in the agency's documents for the first time.

In 2014, the agency called for an interview with Fakhrizadeh and Abbas Shah Moradi Zavareh, a professor at Sharif University and his colleague in nuclear projects, but Khamenei personally opposed these interviews and, in a speech at Imam Hussein University, explicitly opposed the Agency's request.

Theft of nuclear documents and the disclosure of the full identity of Fakhrizadeh

In the winter of 1996, the Mossad service of Israel announced that it had stolen the Islamic Republic’s nuclear archive from a secret warehouse in southern Tehran.

Yossi Cohen, the head of the Mossad, said none of the 20 Israeli operations officers had been. In total, fifty thousand paper documents, 55 thousand digital files and 183 disks fell into the hands of the Mossad.

The review of these documents reaffirmed the key role of Fakhrizadeh. At a press conference, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the head of the prepared project. Remember his name.

Targeted assassination

In 1999, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was targeted by a complex assassination operation in Damavand's cold waters and was killed.

The operation was carried out using an automated shotgun with satellite guidance that blew itself up after firing. The official media of the Islamic Republic initially reported an armed conflict, but it was later revealed that no attacker was present at the scene. Fakhrizadeh’s family confirmed that even the gunshots were not heard and the bullets hit the person of Fakhrizadeh.

Later, the Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi said that the terror agents were moving about half an hour ahead of the Islamic Republic's security teams at each stage and were practically not arrested.

Successor Fakhrizadeh

After the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, Reza Mozaffarinia, another IRGC commander, was appointed as the head of Sepand. The Majlis, on the order of Khamenei, recognized Sepand as an independent organization. According to the resolution, the institution was exempted from the supervision of the Court of Accounts and responded to only the high-ranking military command (with Khamenei’s focus).

Along with Mozaffarinia, Mohammad Eslami, the current head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), is also one of the key pillars of the project. Islami, who has remained in his position after Raisi's government, has a history of cooperation with Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and Abdul Qadir Khan, the father of the atomic bomb in Pakistan. It is said that Islam was one of the first people to contact Khan.

The third person of this ring is Saeed Borji, who is active in the field of explosive detonators. According to documents stolen by Israel, a tower at the Abadeh website in Shiraz has worked on nuclear detonators in collaboration with two Russian researchers.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly asked the Islamic Republic of Iran to explain the activities of Abadeh and Parchin sites, but has not received a specific response.

Current situation

Now, Mohammad Eslami, Reza Mozaffarinia and Saeed Borji are the three main officials of the possible nuclear weapons program of the Islamic Republic.

Mozaffarinia appears to be the leader of the project as a lesser-known figure but with extensive military authority.

In fact, the evidence shows that if the Islamic Republic is to build an atomic bomb and bear its consequences, the main commander of this project is Reza Mozaffarinia.

Analysts such as David Albright and Oli Heinnon believe that the Islamic Republic could prepare the necessary materials for the construction of a primary nuclear weapon in a few weeks, and if there is political will, it will build the first primary nuclear weapon within two to three months. Turning this weapon into a ballistic missile warhead may take up to eighteen months, although the Islamic Republic is said to be trying to reduce this time.

These concerns have led Israel and the United States to focus on this issue. Trump said the issue must either be resolved through an agreement or will be prevented by a military strike.