On the morning of 2 April, an explosion ripped through the Pasteur Institute of Iran, the country’s leading public health research center, obliterating key labs and biological collections. “Miraculously, no member of our staff was harmed” in the attack, Pasteur’s director, epidemiologist Ehsan Mostafavi, told Science. It appears, he adds, that no pathogens escaped from the facility, which is locat...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights the devastating impact of targeted strikes on Iran’s scientific infrastructure, framing the attacks as part of a broader military campaign with severe consequences for public health and academic research. The article provides credible accounts of the damage, including firsthand statements from Iranian officials and scientists, and acknowledges the geopolitical context without overstating certainty about motives. It also presents competing perspe...