Israel kills at least 14 scientists behind Iran’s nuclear program

 Israel killed a high-profile Iranian scientist in an airstrike Tuesday morning in one of the last strikes on Iran after President Trump’s cease-fire went into effect.

Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber, who the US State Department sanctioned last month for his role in Tehran’s nuclear program, is the latest of 14 top atomic experts who were assassinated by Israel after the Jewish state alleged they were “personally involved” in helping develop highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon.

Despite both Israel and Iran accused the other of breaking the deal that was announced by Trump on Monday night. 

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Israel killed a high-profile Iranian scientist in an airstrike Tuesday morning, the latest among 14 slain top atomic experts who had been “personally involved” with Tehran’s nuclear program. Anadolu via Getty Images

The fragile truce carried on later in the day after Trump blasted both sides and demanded the cease-fire hold. 

Trump specifically called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off further attacks against Iran — which had struck Israel with more than a dozen missiles after the midnight cease-fire took effect.

One of the strikes killed four people in the city of Beersheba. Among the casualties was an off-duty IDF soldier, his girlfriend, and his mother. 

Israel, however, retaliated with a smaller attack on Iran’s radar system, with Iran and Israeli officials choosing to back-off from further strikes. 

Both nations maintain that they will no longer attack the other unless they are attacked first, allowing the cease-fire to carry on as airspace restrictions were lifted in Israel, Iran and across the Middle East mid-Tuesday. 

Saber was the head of Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research’s Shahid Karimi Group, which specifically worked on explosives-related projects, according to the Department of State. 

His work was directly “linked to projects including research and testing applicable to the development of nuclear explosive devices,” the department said. 

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Iranian military officials reviewing a map of the Middle East on June 23.AP

Israel appeared to be targeting Saber for more than a week, with a previous attack at his father-in-law’s home killing his 17-year-old son June 13, according to Iranian media. 

After Saber’s death, Joshua Zarka, Israel’s ambassador to France, touted that the Jewish state has now killed at least 14 of Iran’s atomic experts since the war with Tehran began.  

“The fact that the whole group disappeared is basically throwing back the program by a number of years, by quite a number of years,” Zarka told The Associated Press. 

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Zarka told AP that Israeli strikes killed at least 14 physicists and nuclear engineers, top Iranian scientific leaders.Planet Labs PBC/AFP via Getty Images

Nine of Iran’s nuclear scientists were killed during the initial wave of attacks, the Israeli military said. 

Zarka said the deaths, along with previous attacks that killed other Iranian nuclear scientists, should serve as a warning to the program’s successors. 

These people had the know-how of [making nukes] and were developing the know-how of doing it further. And this is why they were eliminated,” he said.

“I do think that people that will be asked to be part of a future nuclear weapon program in Iran will think twice about it,” Zarka added. 

But experts said Iran has replaced its nuclear-program scientists in the past and will have no trouble doing it again, claiming that military force alone will never be enough to erase Iran’s nuclear know-how.   

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In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for killing its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, with a remote-controlled machine gun.Getty Images

“Strikes cannot destroy the knowledge Iran has acquired over several decades, nor any regime ambition to deploy that knowledge to build a nuclear weapon,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday. 

Mark Fitzpatrick, a former US diplomat who specialized in nuclear non-proliferation, said Iran has all the blueprints it needs to prop up the next generation of scientists. 

“They have substitutes in maybe the next league down, and they’re not as highly qualified, but they will get the job done eventually,” he told the AP. 

Israeli officials touted that they have set back Iran’s nuclear program “by years,” but warned that the peace may only be temporary.

“We have concluded a significant chapter, but the campaign against Iran is not over,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

https://nypost.com/2025/06/24/world-news/israel-killed-at-least-14-scientists-in-an-attack-on-iran/

NYC restaurants feed Ozempic crowd with single meatballs, 1-ounce hamburgers, caviar nibbles

 It’s the tapas of the town.

Restaurants across New York City are increasingly adding single, flavor-packed bites to their menus to accommodate customers with shrinking appetites due to weight-loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. According to some surveys, as many as 1 in 8 Americans have tried the drugs.

People come in and “they’re not shy about saying they’re on Ozempic,” said Max Tucci, the restaurateur behind the buzzy Tucci in NoHo. To better serve such guests, the Italian restaurant recently started offering its caviar-topped arancini in a single portion for $12 — instead of the usual three arancini for $34.

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Tucci offers an individual serving of its arancini for diners with smaller appetites. People come in and “they’re not shy about saying they’re on Ozempic,” said restaurateur Max Tucci.Emmy Park for NY Post

Guests can also order a single meatball for $10, instead of the usual $27 portion, which includes three of the signature item, featuring manchego cheese and a Calabrian chili marinara.

“If more people are going through this and they’re experiencing this, and their appetites are suppressed, then let’s offer them something sweet and simple,” Tucci told The Post of his motivation. It’s a win for the restaurant, he added, because it results in less food waste.

Clinton Hall, a beer-and-burger joint with several locations in Manhattan and one in the Bronx, is known for its hearty offerings, such as “The CH Challenge” — a 20-ounce beef patty dressed with bacon, cheese, chicken tenders, crispy onion rings and more for $50.

But, it recently introduced a Teeny Weeny Mini Meal for summer that features two 1-ounce beef patties and baby buns.

“[Diners are] being a little bit more conscious about their intake,” Clinton Hall’s culinary marketing director Gregory Mecane told The Post. This is a playful way “to serve bold flavor in portions that reflect more and more adults’ shrinking appetites.”

Other restaurants aren’t altering their menus, but they’re finding that diners have a bigger appetite for small, luxurious bites. Customers want bold flavor without the food coma.

At The Noortwyck in the West Village, an appetizer featuring a single hash brown topped with caviar and crème fraîche for $22 has long been on the menu. But, chef Andy Quinn admits the item’s popularity has grown over the past year.

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Clinton Hall recently added a Teeny Weeny Mini Meal (front) in addition to its big burger offerings.Courtesy Gregory Mecane

It could very well “be attributed to the rise in Ozempic [use],” he told The Post, adding that he’s also observed tables ordering fewer dishes than they once did.

In Tribeca, the haute Japanese-French restaurants l’abeille recently nixed its five-course menu in favor of a three-course option to accommodate those with smaller appetites.

Owner Howard Chang said they’ve “noticed people are eating less” perhaps due to weight-loss drugs.

He added they’re happy to offer single portions of ala carte dishes, such as a squash blossom stuffed with New Caledonian blue prawn and saffron rice. Typically, two come to an order for $48, but those who ask can order just one.

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The individual hash brown bites with caviar at The Noortwyck have been increasingly popular.Courtesy of The Noortwyck

At other popular restaurants, restaurateurs might not acknowledge they’re catering to GLP-1 users, but those with smaller appetites will certainly find appealing options.

Since it opened in early 2024, the upscale fried chicken joint Coqodaq has been famed for offering a singular chicken nugget topped with Golden Daurenki caviar for $28.

At Crevette, an elegant, rose-hued Mediterranean restaurant that opened in the West Village earlier this year from the team behind Dame, the menu is heavy on raw bar offerings.

However, there’s no three-tiered seafood tower on offer but rather a large assortment of single, thoughtfully conceived bites, such as a chilled mussel with salsa brava for $2 or an individual razor clam with parsley and cucumber for $12.

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At Coqodaq, the caviar-topped chicken nuggets pack a lot of luxury and flavor into a small package.Evan Sung/COQODAQ
The trend seems likely to follow a similar path as the rise of low- and no-alcoholic cocktails. Not too long ago, those who didn’t want to imbibe while eating out had limited options at NYC restaurants — typically just iced tea and soda.

Now, creative zero-proof cocktails — many with price tags only slightly lower than their boozy brethren — abound.

“We’re always evolving. We’re always learning,” Tucci said of himself and other city restaurateurs. “If this is going to become a food trend and we’re making money off of it too, then it’s worth doing.” 

https://nypost.com/2025/06/24/lifestyle/nyc-restaurants-catering-to-ozempic-crowd-with-caviar-nibbles/