Weizmann Institute: How Iranian missiles struck the heart of Israel’s military-scientific hub

Once a cornerstone of the Zionist regime’s scientific and military research, the institute, known for its close ties to the Zionist regime’s military-industrial complex, now lies devastated and inoperable.

According to Israeli media, the precision strike was “far from accidental” and targeted a hub of cutting-edge research tied to the Tel Aviv regime’s military, in fields such as physics, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence.

In a media interview with Channel 13, Alon Chen, president of the Israeli Weizmann Institute, acknowledged that Iranian ballistic missiles struck key buildings within the sprawling complex with extreme precision, causing extensive and irreparable damage.

His statement contradicted earlier claims made by some regime officials that the missile strikes were random and the damage caused was minimal.

"The destruction is extensive, and our initial assessments indicate damages ranging from $300 million up to half a billion," Chen told the Israeli television channel.

He explained that the institute complex consists of two parts, a smaller residential one and a larger scientific one, adding that "Iran targeted the latter, which means they struck the heart of the institute, and the strikes were extremely precise."

When reporters asked him about the regime’s censorship of images showing the extent of damage, Chen confirmed the restrictions, explaining that they aim to prevent Iran from obtaining information that could aid future attacks on these sites.

"It must be acknowledged that the Iranians have monitored the missile strike locations in Israel, not just in Weizmann, but in many military bases and strategic sites which we haven’t disclosed publicly so far," he said.

Channel 13 reported that the situation is such that the Zionist regime’s settler community remains unaware of the precision and extent of Iranian attacks and the damage at many locations.

Despite censorship efforts, surveillance footage and photographs have emerged, revealing ballistic strikes on buildings and the severe destruction they caused.

Decades of research lost

On June 15, 2025, Iranian ballistic missile strikes inflicted significant damage on the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, located in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Multiple facilities within the institute’s complex were targeted and destroyed.

A newly constructed chemistry and material science laboratory, slated to open in 2025, suffered catastrophic damage, with some reports describing it as effectively destroyed.

An existing building dedicated to life and computational sciences was also severely hit, with fires erupting in at least one laboratory. This facility housed crucial research programs, including cancer research and regenerative medicine.

Among the hardest hit was the laboratory of Professor Eldad Tzahor, an expert in cardiac regeneration. His lab was completely demolished, destroying thousands of heart tissue samples, DNA and RNA collections, custom antibodies, and engineered viruses, representing over 22 years of research.

"In under 15 minutes, I saw images of a fire consuming the lab that has been my second home for 22 years. Three entire floors collapsed. Nothing is left -- no data, no images, no notes, no history," said Tzahor, describing the obliteration of his laboratory.

Approximately 45 research laboratories across the institute were damaged, affecting some 400 to 500 researchers. The impacted labs spanned life sciences, molecular biology, and neurobiology, resulting in the loss of irreplaceable materials such as tissue slides and cell lines.

Satellite image reportedly shows the vast scale of destruction at the IOF tech backbone, the Weizmann Institute, in Tel Aviv, following the Iranian retaliatory missile attacks.

The planetary sciences building, which houses geochemistry labs and other chemistry programs, was severely affected, not by a direct strike but by shockwaves from a missile hitting the adjacent chemistry building. Although not directly targeted, the facility was rendered largely unusable.

Overall, around 90 percent of the institute’s buildings sustained some form of damage, ranging from direct missile hits to collateral damage caused by shockwaves, shrapnel, and fires, including shattered windows, collapsed laboratory floors, destroyed electrical systems, and water damage from firefighting.

The strikes also disrupted access to shared scientific equipment, expensive, specialized machines used by multiple research groups, further exacerbating the institute’s colossal losses.

Physical damages are estimated between $300 million and $570 million, with rebuilding efforts expected to take years. However, the loss of decades’ worth of biological samples and research data is considered irreplaceable in many cases.

An institute with strong military links

The Weizmann Institute of Science presents itself as a “civilian” scientific institution, with much of its research openly published in academic journals. However, many of its projects overlap with military research, though these connections are not always publicly disclosed.

Israeli and Western media sources often emphasize the institute’s achievements in basic and applied sciences, such as physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics, downplaying its ties to military applications.

Yet, the Weizmann Institute maintains clear, documented links to the Israeli military through collaborations with military contractors like Elbit Systems, research in artificial intelligence (AI), drone technology, dual-use innovations, and nuclear research.

In October 2024, the institute announced a partnership with Elbit Systems, a major Israeli military contractor, to develop “groundbreaking bio-inspired materials for defense applications,” explicitly linking the institute to military technology development.

Additionally, the Weizmann Institute has collaborated with Elbit Systems on projects including the development and supply of a space telescope for the Israeli Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT) program. While officially scientific, this program has acknowledged dual-use applications.

The nearby Kiryat Weizmann Science Park hosts leading Israeli arms companies such as Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Elbit Systems, the three largest military contractors of the Israeli regime, creating a research and development environment where the institute’s work indirectly supports defense industries.

Many research programs at the institute are also funded by the Israeli war affairs ministry, further cementing its role within the military-industrial complex.

The Weizmann Institute is recognized as a key contributor to Israeli military capabilities in fields including artificial intelligence, drone technology, cybersecurity, materials science, quantum computing, autonomous systems, electronic tracking and jamming, and alternative GPS navigation.

These technologies reportedly support Israeli military operations, including airstrike coordination, battlefield medical advancements, and cyber defense strategies.

Graduates of the institute often serve in elite military units such as Unit 8200, the regime’s top signals intelligence and cyber warfare division, and the Talpiot program, which trains Israel’s foremost scientific and technological military experts.

Specific laboratories, like that of Professor Eran Segal, have been linked to developing algorithmic systems for battlefield decision-making and real-time surveillance used in Israeli military aggression, including in Gaza and Iran.

Some researchers also focus on protecting drones from eavesdropping attacks, directly contributing to military technology.

The Institute's militaristic roots

During the 1948 war of aggression and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, known as the Nakba, the Weizmann Institute officially placed its equipment and campus facilities at the disposal of the Zionist paramilitary group Haganah, and later the newly established Israeli military.

Faculty and students at the institute began developing and producing a variety of weapons, including plastic explosives, rockets fueled by synthetic propellants, mortar and cannon shells, as well as ignition mechanisms for napalm, tear gas, and mines.

By the end of the Nakba in 1948, the institute had become a central pillar of the Military Science Corps. Alongside the Technion, it emerged as the primary military-scientific hub for the Israeli regime.

Senior administrators and faculty from both the Weizmann Institute and the Technion went on to lead the development of Israel’s military-industrial complex. They championed the idea of establishing Israeli scientific research as the foundation of military power, pushing for the indigenous development and manufacture of advanced weaponry.

In this pursuit, these scientists often clashed with the Israeli military leadership, which tended to favor a more conservative approach to military R&D and preferred procuring weapons from foreign suppliers.

Ultimately, the scientists prevailed, gaining significant influence. The Military Science Corps was separated from the general military command and transformed into the Research and Design Directorate, headed by Ernst David Bergman, one of the Weizmann Institute’s founders and senior administrators.

The mastermind of Israeli illegal nuclear program

The Weizmann Institute has long been linked to Israel’s clandestine nuclear program, particularly through Ernst David Bergmann, a former head of the institute and the first chairman of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, established in 1952.

Bergmann is widely recognized as a key architect of Israel’s illegal nuclear weapons development. During the 1950s, the institute contributed to early nuclear research, including uranium extraction from phosphate deposits in the Negev Desert.

Many scientists working at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona)—the core facility of Israel’s nuclear weapons program—were graduates or faculty members of the Weizmann Institute.

More recent studies, such as a 2014 joint report by the University of Cincinnati and Tel Aviv University, indicate that the institute played a crucial role in training scientists with expertise in nuclear physics, thereby laying the groundwork for Israel’s nuclear capabilities.

FBI investigations have alleged that the Weizmann Institute conducted research related to both nuclear and conventional weapons development, and may have covertly accessed U.S. military systems.

For decades, Israeli media and officials have described the institute as a “technological backbone” and the “scientific and military brain” of the regime, underscoring its strategic significance.

Following last month’s successful missile strike, however, Israeli officials and media rapidly portrayed the institute as purely civilian, seeking to deflect blame onto Iran and portray the attack as unjustified retaliation against Iran’s civilian scientific programs and personnel.

Source: Press tv