Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, hit by an Israeli airstrike, was part of Tehran's nuclear deal

Much of the focus on Iran 's nuclear program has been on Tehran 's enrichment of uranium, but experts also keep a close watch on the Islamic Republic's Arak heavy water reactor.
That's because the facility, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran, could produce plutonium, which can be used to make an atomic bomb.
Israel pointed to just that concern when it launched airstrikes Thursday on the reactor, following its attacks on other Iranian nuclear sites, including the Nantanz enrichment facility, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, and laboratories in Isfahan. Iran acknowledged the strikes, saying at least two projectiles slammed into the compound, without giving any specifics about damage.
Never online, the reactor had no uranium fuel and saw no nuclear release from the strike. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has warned repeatedly that such sites — whether in Iran or Ukraine — should not be military targets.
Arak grew out of Iran's onetime military nuclear program
After Iran's devastating 1980s war with Iraq, it began a secret military program to seek a nuclear weapon and approached four nations to purchase a heavy water-moderated reactor. After getting turned down, Iran decided to build its own.
Heavy water is water in which hydrogen is replaced by deuterium and is used as a coolant for heavy water reactors.
The reactors can be used for scientific purposes, but plutonium is a byproduct of the process. Before the centrifuge technology that enriches uranium to levels high enough for use in weapons became widespread, many states used heavy water reactors to pursue plutonium-fueled bombs.
India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed states, have heavy water reactors, as does Israel, which has never acknowledged having atomic weapons but is widely believed to have them.
Though Iran ultimately embraced uranium-enriching centrifuges as the main driver of its program, it built the reactor, which never went online.
Iran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes. However, it also had been enriching uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran was the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich at that level.
Arak was part of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers
Iran agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to alleviate proliferation concerns. That included pouring concrete into part of it, though the overall work never was completed.
The Arak reactor became a point of contention after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. Ali Akbar Salehi, a high-ranking nuclear official in Iran, claimed on Iranian state television in 2019 that Tehran bought extra parts to replace the portion of the reactor into which officials poured concrete.
Due to restrictions Iran has imposed on inspectors, the IAEA has said it lost 'continuity of knowledge' about Iran's heavy water production — meaning it could not absolutely verify Tehran's production and stockpile.
Israeli strike likely heavily damaged the inert reactor
On Thursday morning, Israel carried out an airstrike on the reactor. Black-and-white footage of the strike it released showed a bomb dropping on its dome and sending up a massive plume of fire and smoke. The U.N. nuclear watchdog noted that since it was not in operation and contained no nuclear material, there was no danger to the public after the strike from any 'radiological effects.' The IAEA said it had no information on whether the facility nearby where heavy water is produced had been hit.
Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted the Arak facility and its reactor core seal to halt it from being used to produce plutonium.
'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 Israelis said.
___
The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

37 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

MARK HALPERIN: Netanyahu has seduced Trump by exploiting his biggest weakness... but here's what will derail the leaders' bromance

Let us now praise famous men — and the famously transactional friendships they foster. Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel and amongst the world's longest-running acts in the global political circus, has always possessed a singular talent: the ability to both infuriate and seduce American presidents, often simultaneously.

Daily Mail​

38 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Sunny Hostin leaves The View hosts speechless as she defends Iran and complains about Israel

The View 's Sunny Hostin found herself at odds with her co-hosts this week during a fiery debate about the legality of Israel 's preemptive strikes on Iran. Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, argued that Israel's bombings violate international law and needed to be done 'diplomatically.' But co-hosts Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, and Joy Behar weren't buying it, given Iran's own heinous track record. All three pointed out how Tehran is the world's leading funder of terrorism, and that it does not play by the conventional rules of foreign policy. 'Well, Iran's launched tons of missiles against Israel in the last few years,' Griffin said Wednesday. 'That is fine, but you have to do that legally and under international criminal law,' Hostin replied. The remark led Behar to note: 'I'm not sure Iran does things legally.' Hostin continued to push back, but once the dust settled, she turned to the camera to assure viewers she was not anti-Semitic. 'Under international law, Israel should not be preemptively striking another country,' she explained. 'We really need to have a bird's-eye view of what's going on. 'If that's okay for Israel to do, if that's okay for our president to do, is that okay for another country to do to us?' she added, leading Behar to point out the threat Iran poses to Israel. 'Well think of it this way,' Behar said. 'What if Canada was saying - was going to build a nuclear bomb and they threatened to kill us all. What would we do?' 'You have to do it diplomatically, Joy - you can't just bomb a country,' Hostin shot back. 'What's so diplomatic about having a nuclear bomb and threatening another country?' Behar replied. Hostin responded by saying Iran 'doesn't necessarily' have nuclear weapons at this point. 'No, but they're building it,' Behar declared. 'Obama acknowledged that they were building,' Griffin added. Hostin, however, continued to blame Trump for the conflict. At this point Haines looked to have had enough and questioned how Hostin could defend the rights of the Iranian government given its funding of terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. 'Israel has had a target on its back its entire existence from every terrorist organization known to man, and Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism,' Haines argued. 'Doesn't mean you can proactively bomb a country,' Hostin fired back. 'I'm not going to defend the legal-ness of a terrorist nation that's been funding people killing people for decades and say, well, they didn't follow the rules,' Haines continued. 'They've never followed rules'. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg stressed that such issues are why global organizations like the United Nations exist. 'Which is why I recommend what's going on right now because the US is not actively involved,' Haines said. Griffin pointed out that Iran has launched ballistic missile attacks on US forces in Iraq as recently as three years ago. 'They have attacked Israel, preemptively,' the former Trump aide added. 'They are a terrorist nation.' Hostin went on to ask: 'So, we should do what they do?' Griffin asserted that it was up to the Iranian people to rid themselves of their regime. 'Can I just say this so I don't get a bunch of hate mail - criticism of the Israeli government is not anti-Semitic,' Hostin concluded 'I am criticizing Benjamin Netanyahu. I am criticizing Israel. I am not an anti-Semite. But, under international criminal law, what is happening now is not legal. That's the line.'

The Guardian

44 minutes ago

• The Guardian

EU cites ‘indications' Israel is breaching human rights obligations over conduct in Gaza

The EU has said 'there are indications' that Israel is in breach of human rights obligations over its conduct in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for immediate sanctions. 'There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement,' states a leaked document from the EU's foreign policy service, seen by the Guardian. Couched in the typically cautious language of Brussels, the document nevertheless represents a significant moment in Europe's relations towards a longstanding ally. The closely guarded paper, which will be presented by the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, to European foreign ministers on Monday, cites assessments by the international court of justice, the office of the high commissioner for human rights, and numerous other UN bodies, while saying that it does not represent 'a value judgment' by any EU official. The finding has been seen as a foregone conclusion since a review of the EU-Israel agreement was put on the agenda last month by 17 EU member states, led by the Netherlands, a traditional ally of Israel. EU officials were tasked to see whether Israel's internal and international relations were based on 'respect for human rights and democratic principles' against the backdrop of near-daily fatal shootings of Palestinian civilians seeking food. The review was triggered by Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, amid widespread horror over the ongoing bombardment that has laid the territory waste and killed more than 55,600 people – mostly civilians – since 7 October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry. The EU discussion is complicated by Israel's airstrikes on Iran, which may restrain some governments from putting pressure on Israel. Soon after Israel began waging war against Iran, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, 'reiterated Israel's right to defend itself'. She has previously faced criticism for not speaking up over the humanitarian consequences for Palestinians of Israel's onslaught. The EU-Israel association agreement, signed in 1995, underpins a trade relationship worth €68bn (£58bn) between 27 European countries and the Middle Eastern country. The EU is Israel's largest market and accounts for about one-third of its trade. Israel is also a member of the EU's Horizon research funding programme, and has secured grants worth €831m since the current programme began in 2021. The document emerged after more than 100 campaign groups urged the commission this week to suspend the association agreement. 'A weak or inconclusive review of Israel's compliance with article 2, and/or failure by the commission and council to suspend at least part of the association agreement, would ultimately destroy what's left of the EU's credibility [and] further embolden Israel authorities to continue their atrocity crimes,' reads the statement, signed by 113 civil society groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Eve Geddie, the head of Amnesty International's EU office, said the decision to launch a review had come 'tragically, devastatingly late' and that while it was important, as time passed Israeli forces had become 'more and more emboldened'. Separately, eight EU member states have written to Kallas urging her to look into discontinuing trade of goods and services from the occupied Palestinian territory. The letter, organised by Belgium, states the EU is obliged to respond to an opinion from the international court of justice last July ordering Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories as soon as possible. In a landmark – albeit non-binding –ruling, the court said other states were under an obligation not to recognise the occupation as lawful. 'We have not seen a proposal on how to effectively discontinue trade of goods and services with the illegal settlements,' states the letter, calling for the EU to set out a timeline for reaching 'full compliance' with the advisory opinion around its first anniversary. EU policy on Israel has been hobbled by difficulties finding unanimity among 27 member states with starkly different views, from countries that have recognised Palestine, including Spain and Ireland, to staunch allies of the Israeli president, Benjamin Netanyahu, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic. The tide turned last month when the Netherlands, a strong ally of Israel, launched a call to review the EU-Israel association agreement, following the largest protests on Dutch streets over a foreign policy question in decades. The Dutch foreign minister, Casper Veldkamp, a former ambassador to Israel, argued that Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip was a breach of international law and therefore the association agreement. An unexpectedly large number of countries agreed, although the question was not put to a vote. The EU is far from united over what to do next. A full suspension of the agreement, which requires unanimity, is seen as impossible, given the certainty of a veto from Hungary, the Czech Republic or Germany. The EU only needs a weighted majority to suspend favourable trade terms or Israel's participation in Horizon, but even those outcomes are highly uncertain. Hildegard Bentele, a German centre-right MEP who chairs the European parliament's Israel delegation, criticised moves to question the agreement. 'This will not have any influence on the Israeli government. I am very sure about it. This will put us in a less influential position,' she said in an interview earlier this month. Kallas's predecessor Josep Borrell, however, has criticised Europe for shirking its moral responsibilities over Gaza. In a typically outspoken speech, he argued the EU should use the association agreement as a lever to demand that humanitarian law is respected. In a further illustration of the EU's foreign policy knots, Hungary is blocking EU sanctions against Hamas and violent Israeli settlers. Kallas earlier this week voiced frustration at critics that have accused the EU of silence and inaction, citing the need to find consensus. 'Sanctions need unanimity. And again I'm representing 27 [countries].' She argued that presenting sanctions that would inevitably fail was pointless: 'I feel better myself that I've done something, but actually I know that this will not go through … and then it will just show that we don't have a common position.'