Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND)

The Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (Sazman-e Pazhuhesh-haye Defai-ye Novin, SPND) is a secretive Iranian defence research body established circa 2011 under the Ministry of Defense. It is widely assessed by Western intelligence services and the IAEA as the successor to the Amad Project — the covert nuclear weapons programme led by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh until its nominal 'dissolution' in 2003. SPND absorbed key personnel and continued research on weaponisation, high-explosives diagnostics, and delivery system integration. The IAEA has sought access to SPND facilities since 2012. The organisation was headed by Reza Mozaffari Nia and later Hossein Jabal Amelian, both of whom were killed in Israeli airstrikes on 28 February 2026.