Iran Forms Special Security Unit to Protect Nuclear Scientists, Facilities

By Shahar Klaiman

(Israel Hayom via JNS) Iran is growing increasingly concerned about the potential threats to its nuclear program and related personnel, and plans to set up a special security force to protect them, Iranian media reported this week.

The new unit will be under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence unit and will be called the “Nuclear Facilities Defense Command,” according to the report.

The command will be part of Iran’s intelligence apparatus, and will be tasked with protecting sensitive facilities from sabotage and high-profile individuals linked with the nuclear program from assassination “by Israel and other hostile elements.”

Multiple Iranian nuclear facilities have been attacked and several Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated since 2010, including Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, believed to be the head of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Iran has accused Israel of being behind many of these attacks.

Israel has not commented on any of these allegations.

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.