Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets bombed the Arak heavy water reactor near the town of Khondab in the western Iranian province of Markazi overnight, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on June 19.
In a statement, the IDF said that a wave of overnight strikes involved 40 fighter jets dropping 100 munitions on Akra and dozens of additional targets in Tehran and other parts of the Islamic Republic. Ahead of the attack on the reactor, the military issued a warning and urged residents in nearby areas to evacuate.
“The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development,” the military said.
Iranian state TV said that Arak was evacuated ahead of the attack and there was no damage to civilian areas around the reactor.
Later, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a brief statement that Akrak was not operational and contained no nuclear materials at the time of the attack. The agency added that it had no information on the fate of the nearby Khondab heavy water plant.
Footage released by the IDF showed a series of strikes targeting Arak’s main hull and several of the reactor’s support facilities.
The research reactor was only partially built, with Tehran informing the IAEA that it planned to begin operating the facility next year. Heavy water reactors can easily produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make nuclear weapons.
Among the targets struck by the IAF elsewhere in Iran overnight was a facility near the city of Natanz in the central province of Isfahan, used by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, the IDF said.
“The site houses unique components and equipment used for the development of nuclear weapons, and hosts projects that enable the acceleration of the nuclear weapons program,” the military said.
The IDF previously struck the underground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant near Natanz. The IAEA reported heavy damage and said that the site was likely contaminated.
More than 1,100 targets have been struck since the start of the attack on Iran, codenamed Operation Rising Lion, on June 13, according to the IDF.
Iranian officials have reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, though that toll has not been updated for four days now. The Washington-based Human Rights Activists monitoring group estimates the death toll at at least 585 people, including 239 civilians.
The IDF says that Iran has so far launched more than 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 suicide drones at Israel in retaliation for the ongoing attack on its nuclear program and military capabilities. At least 24 Israelis were killed as result of these strikes. The latest Iranian strike, which was carried out right after the attack on Arak, was among the most devastative.
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