Breaking: Israel Bombs Iran’s Heavy Nuclear Facility, New Report Confirms
- Israel's military strike on Thursday, June 19, reportedly hit Iran's Arak heavy water reactor that was still under construction
- Israel's seventh day of airstrikes on Iran came a day after Iran's supreme leader rejected U.S. calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage to them"
- Under a 2015 deal with major powers, the plant was redesigned to reduce the proliferation risk and its core was removed and filled with concrete
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
An emerging report on Thursday, June 19, disclosed that 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.
Source: UGC
Israel strike hits Iran's nuclear reactor under construction
As reported by BBC, the Israeli military said it targeted the Arak heavy water reactor's core seal to stop it being used for "nuclear weapons development".
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the reactor was hit and that it contained no nuclear material.
Spent fuel from heavy water reactors contains plutonium suitable for a nuclear bomb, The report was also confirmed by Yahoo News.
Source: Getty Images
What to know about Iran's nuclear programme
Iran - which says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful - agreed under a 2015 deal with world powers to redesign and rebuild Arak so it could not produce weapons-grade plutonium.
The following year, the IAEA said Iran had removed Arak's calandria, or reactor core, and rendered it "inoperable".
The global nuclear watchdog's latest quarterly report from late May 2025, said minor civil construction work was ongoing at the reactor, and that Iran expected it to be commissioned this year and to start operating in 2026.
Why Israel targeted the nuclear facility
The Israeli military said Iran's government had "deliberately ordered [workers] not to complete the conversion... in order to exert pressure on the West".
"The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development," it added.
Trump to decide whether US to attack Iran ‘within two weeks’
Meanwhile, the White House has announced that US President Donald Trump will decide on whether the US will join in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks.
White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, revealed this at a press briefing on Thursday, June 19.
This comes as Israel’s Defence Minister maintained that “eliminating” Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is one of the country’s war goals.
Read more about Iran vs Israel conflict
- Iran warns Trump against US involvement in Israel strikes
- Just in: Iran presses on with attacks, missile hits Israeli hospital as tension grows, video emerges
- Israel vs Iran: Primate Ayodele mentions actual devil's country, video trends
- Iran unleashes ballistic missile capable of flying 15 times the speed of sound against Israel
Middle East war: Powerful Iranian ally warns US
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Iran’s Guardian Council warned the United States that any support for Israel in the ongoing conflict would trigger a harsh response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Iran would pay a “very heavy price” for the missile strike that killed civilians.
The United Nations condemned the growing civilian toll in the Iran-Israel conflict, while Iran arrested 24 people accused of spying for Israel.
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Source: Legit.ng
