Israel and Iran may be clashing in the diplomatic arena, but different sounds are being heard in the scientific arena as two Iranian scientists maintain warm, professional ties with their Israeli colleagues.

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The two are physicists from Tehran's University of Technology, who published a study about carbon nanotubes. The article caught the eye of Prof. Moshe Kaveh and Prof. Eugene Kogan from Bar-Ilan University, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his second "Bar-Ilan speech" several days ago and addressed the tensions between Israel and Iran.

Kogan immediately emailed one of the scientists, noting that he had already conducted research in the field and wondering why there was no reference to his study. He expressed his hope that his work was not omitted for political reasons.

The Iranian physicists were quick to respond, politely explaining that they had simply missed the Israeli research.

"We thank you for bringing the study to our attention. In the next issue we will gladly mention your research. We believe that scientists are messengers of peace, and scientists' way of thinking is different from politicians' way of thinking," they wrote.

Prof. Kaveh, who served until recently as the president of Bar-Ilan University for 18 years, said that his dream was now to invite the Iranian physicists to the university to work together.