Israeli jets have bombed a nuclear reactor under construction in central Iran during a wave of air strikes on the seventh day of the conflict between the two countries.
Satellite images show a hole in the domed roof of the facility caused by a blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the damage and said no nuclear material was present during the strike.
Why It Matters
The airstrike targeted the Arak heavy water reactor, known officially as the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, located about 240 kilometers southwest of Tehran.
The Israeli military said the attack was designed to disable the core seal of the unfinished reactor and prevent it from being used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.
What To Know
The Arak facility, though still under construction, has long been viewed by Western powers as a potential component of a nuclear weapons program. Heavy water reactors like Arak produce plutonium as a byproduct, which can be used in nuclear weapons.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran was required to disable the Arak reactor by removing its core and filling it with concrete. However, in 2019, Ali Akbar Salehi, then head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, revealed in a televised interview that Iran had secretly obtained duplicate piping to rebuild the core.
Israel released black-and-white footage of the strike, showing a bomb hitting the reactor’s domed roof, followed by a large explosion. Iranian state TV aired daytime footage of smoke rising from the site and reported the area had been secured and evacuated prior to the attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which last inspected the site in May, confirmed there was no radioactive material at the facility and noted that key structures, including the distillation units of the adjacent heavy water plant, were damaged. The agency also acknowledged it had lost “continuity of knowledge” regarding Iran’s heavy water production due to restricted access.
Israel has previously struck other nuclear sites, including Natanz and Isfahan, in what it describes as a campaign to neutralize Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack, saying Israel had “crossed a new red line in international law.” Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the strikes are necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
What People Are Saying
IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said: “We continue to dismantle Iran’s strategic capabilities—each strike reinforces our air superiority.”
President Donald Trump, during a bilateral meeting with the Canadian prime minister at the G7 summit, said: “They should talk, and they should talk immediately. I’d say Iran is not winning this war.”
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, wrote in a post on X: “If Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Iran’s top diplomat continued. “That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”
What Happens Next
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will make a decision on whether or not to have the United States join Israel’s war with Iran “within the next two weeks.”
Maxar Technologies
