Israel targets Iran's Arak heavy water facility in latest strike

The Israel Defence Forces said it carried out overnight airstrikes on a heavy water production facility in Arak, central Iran, describing the site as part of the country’s nuclear infrastructure.

According to the IDF press office, the operation was conducted by the Israeli Air Force based on intelligence gathered by the military. The statement was published on the IDF’s Telegram channel.

"Heavy water is a unique material used to operate nuclear reactors, such as the inactive Arak reactor, which was originally designed to have weapons-grade plutonium production capabilities. These materials can also be used as a neutron source for nuclear weapons.

Additionally, the plant was a significant economic asset for the terror regime and served as a source of income for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, generating tens of millions of dollars for the regime each year.

Despite explicit international commitments, foremost among them the nuclear agreement, the Iranian terror regime has systematically avoided converting the reactor so that it would not enable the production of weapons-grade plutonium, and even deliberately ordered that the conversion not be completed.

The plant was struck during Operation ‘Rising Lion’, and since then, repeated reconstruction attempts by the Iranian terror regime have been identified. Therefore, the IDF has now struck the facility once again.

The IDF will not allow the Iranian terror regime to continue its efforts to advance its nuclear weapons program, which poses an existential threat to the State of Israel and the entire world," the statement said.

By Tamilla Hasanova