Iranian Media Blames Mossad for Death of AI Researcher in Nice

Iranian state-linked Press TV has published a report on the mysterious death in France of Dr. Ali Ahsanian, an Iranian artificial intelligence researcher described in Tehran as one of the country’s pioneers in the field. According to the report, his body was returned to Iran on June 11, about six weeks after he died in Nice, France.

Press TV said Ahsanian held a doctorate in electrical engineering from Sorbonne University in Paris and had previously worked with Iran’s Defense Ministry during his military service from 2018 to 2020. The outlet’s main allegation was directed at Israel, claiming that “all signs” point to the Mossad and portraying his death as part of a long campaign against Iranian scientists in nuclear, technology and AI fields.

However, the Iranian outlet offered no evidence for Israeli involvement and did not explain how Ahsanian died. That gap is central to the story. Even Press TV said French police and prosecutors had issued no official statement identifying Ahsanian, had not announced a murder investigation, and had not named any suspects or made any arrests.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in May that it was following the case through the Iranian embassy in Paris and the French embassy in Tehran. Inside Iran, the case has already been framed as the death of a “scientist who became a martyr,” and other Iranian media reported the return of the body and burial after a public ceremony, without providing any factual details about the circumstances of death. For now, the only confirmed point is that Tehran is accusing, Press TV is amplifying the claim, and the cause remains unclear.