Iran’s state-aligned PressTV channel published a report in recent days on the mystery surrounding the death in France of Dr. Ali Ehsanian, described as Tehran’s “AI pioneer.” According to the channel, the finger of blame points to the Mossad, although PressTV is known for echoing the propaganda of the ayatollahs’ regime. As for the circumstances of his death, however, no details were provided.
On June 11, various Iranian networks reported that Ehsanian’s body had been returned to Iran and buried in his hometown of Jahrom, in Fars Province. According to PressTV, his body was buried nearly six weeks after his mysterious death in Nice, France, on March 28, during the days of Operation Rising Lion. The channel added that, although the cause of death is still under investigation, all evidence points to the Mossad, “which has, for years, systematically assassinated young Iranian scientists.”
Ehsanian, according to the report, held a doctorate in electrical engineering and had previously cooperated with Iran’s Defense Ministry during his military service from 2018 to 2020. His fields of expertise included artificial intelligence, machine learning and next-generation wireless networks, fields that can also be used in military warfare.
The channel also detailed Ehsanian’s exceptional academic record. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Amirkabir University in Iran in 2015 and completed two master’s degrees at the same institution in 2018.
PressTV further wrote: “His assassination is being seen as part of a broader campaign by foreign intelligence services, chief among them the Israeli Mossad, to decapitate Iran's scientific and technological progress. It is a decades-long campaign that has previously claimed the lives of numerous nuclear scientists and, more recently, AI researchers."
The report also claimed that French police did not issue a public statement naming him or confirm the opening of a murder investigation, and that French prosecutors did not announce charges or identify suspects. It further added that major newspapers avoided reporting the incident. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also referred to Ehsanian’s death in remarks he made on May 4, 2026. He said it was a “very bitter” incident and claimed that it took place in April, contrary to other reports that said it occurred on March 28.
3 View gallery
Dr. Ali Ehsanian had an impressive academic record in fields with military applications
Baghaei added: “Our embassy is following up on the incident, and we are following up on the incident through the French Embassy in Tehran. We have a duty to seriously pursue the rights of Iranian citizens wherever they are in the world.” Baghaei also linked the case to two other murders of Iranian citizens in France, raising concerns about “racism and acts of terrorism.”
Despite the lack of evidence, PressTV sought to explain why it constituted a “targeted assassination by foreign intelligence services," writing that “his profile matches the pattern of Israeli intelligence targets.” It claimed the Mossad has a documented history of assassinating Iranian scientists with expertise in dual-use equipment, those whose civilian work includes military applications. That, it said, was also the case with Ehsanian, whose knowledge could have been used to operate drones and autonomous military systems.
"The pattern of assassinations – first nuclear scientists, now AI researchers – reveals that the enemy’s objective is not limited to any single program but extends to Iranian science and technological progress as a whole," according to PressTV.
In addition, it claimed that Ehsanian’s previous cooperation with Iran’s Defense Ministry, even though according to the report it was not related to weapons design, made him a person who could be of interest to foreign intelligence agencies.
The channel also noted that all of the facts have yet come to light. "The absence of detailed French investigative reporting should not be interpreted as evidence that no crime occurred. European security services have on multiple occasions confirmed Israeli sabotage operations on their soil, sometimes years after the events. It remains possible that French authorities possess information that has not yet been released to the public.”
3 View gallery
The circumstances of his death have not yet been announced. In Iran, the Mossad is being blamed
The channel added that this was not the first time artificial intelligence experts had been killed, writing: "The US and the Israeli regime have consistently demonstrated that they view any field in which Iran achieves scientific excellence as a potential threat. Nuclear technology, aerospace engineering, missile development, advanced materials, cyber technologies, and artificial intelligence are all considered strategic domains where Iranian progress must be contained. Eliminating a scientist can delay technological projects by years, create gaps in expertise that cannot be quickly filled, discourage younger researchers from entering strategically sensitive fields, and degrade national research programs. The assassinations are not random acts of violence but calculated components of a long-term strategy of scientific decapitation."
The report also noted that Iran's enemies are pursuing its experts in third countries. “According to experts, demonstrates that foreign intelligence services are willing to expand their operational theater to include third countries where Iranian scientists study or work.,” PressTV reported. “This creates new challenges for Iranian diplomatic missions, which must now protect Iranian citizens not only at home but also abroad.”
PressTV further emphasized that all the scientists who were killed are part of a single story: “the determination of a nation to advance despite the efforts of hostile powers to hold it back,” and that “in the Iranian narrative, Iranian scientists are people who gave their lives in the service of their country’s scientific sovereignty.”
There currently is no verification of the Iranian report by PressTV beyond the numerous reports confirming Ehsanian’s death and the return of his body to Iran.