Israeli warplanes struck Iran’s unfinished Arak heavy water reactor on Wednesday, targeting its core in what the Israeli military described as an attempt to halt potential nuclear weapons development.
The airstrike, part of a broader Israeli offensive entering its seventh day, hit the site located in Khondab, about 155 miles southwest of Tehran. Israeli authorities said the strike aimed to damage the component designed to produce plutonium, which can be extracted from spent fuel to make a nuclear bomb.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the reactor was struck but stated it did not contain nuclear material at the time. Iran had previously committed to redesign the reactor under the 2015 nuclear deal to make it unusable for weapons production.
Aerial footage released by Israel’s military showed a bomb piercing the domed roof of the facility followed by large explosions. Iranian state television broadcast daytime images showing two plumes of white smoke rising from the site.
Iranian officials claimed the facility had been “secured in advance” and reported “no contamination resulting from the attack.” However, satellite imagery analyzed later revealed a hole in the reactor building’s roof and damage to distillation towers next to the reactor part of the adjacent heavy water production plant.
The IAEA initially said no visible damage was detected at the heavy water plant but later confirmed that the distillation unit and key infrastructure had been hit.
The Israeli military accused Iran of deliberately stalling the Arak reactor’s redesign to pressure Western governments. “The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production to prevent the reactor from being restored for nuclear weapons use,” a military statement read.
The strike on Arak followed earlier Israeli attacks on other nuclear-related sites. At Natanz, the main center for uranium enrichment, Israeli jets had already destroyed the above-ground pilot enrichment facility and disrupted power to underground centrifuge halls. The IAEA reported direct impacts on those halls, which house machines that enrich uranium.
Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, told the media that the loss of power at Natanz likely caused severe damage to the centrifuges. Four buildings at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center were also destroyed, while Fordo another underground enrichment plant appeared to remain mostly intact.
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering authorizing a U.S. airstrike on Fordo. According to news sources said Trump believes only the U.S. has the weapons capable of disabling the site, which is buried deep underground.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, arguing it failed to eliminate Iran’s pathway to a bomb. Iran responded by breaching the agreement’s uranium enrichment limits. The IAEA’s most recent quarterly report stated that Iran had accumulated enough uranium enriched to 60% purity to potentially build nine nuclear weapons if taken to 90%.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strikes on Friday, stating, “If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.” He did not present evidence for the claim.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack on Arak, saying Israel had “crossed a new red line in international law.” He reiterated Iran’s official stance against nuclear weapons, calling them “illegitimate.”
While Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, it maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity and does not confirm or deny its arsenal.
Beyond nuclear facilities, the Israeli strikes have also hit military targets, killing Iranian commanders and scientists. Iran’s health ministry reported at least 224 deaths, though a human rights group placed the death toll at 639 as of Thursday.
Iran has responded with hundreds of ballistic missiles aimed at Israeli targets. According to Israel’s prime minister’s office, 24 people have been killed in Israel so far.
The conflict continues to escalate, with both nations trading strikes and accusations amid growing global concern over the safety of nuclear materials and the risk of broader regional instability.
