Dramatic moment Iran's only working nuke reactor is BLOWN UP in Israel blitz – as Trump aims crosshairs at ‘Mount Doom'
THIS is the dramatic moment Israel blows up one of Iran's nuclear reactors with a surgical missile strike.
Another plant, the infamous
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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Arak heavy water reactor in Iran on Feb. 15, 2025. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Credit: AP
Footage shows the heavy water reactor - known as Arak but renamed Khondab - lying in night-vision cross hairs during the sixth
A missile
darts
in from above and
strikes
right at the heart of the sprawling plant.
Smoke and flames erupt from the impact site and envelop the whole facility in a huge cloud.
The site was "inactive" as it was yet to be completed, but the IDF insisted it had to be taken out because it was designed to cultivate plutonium for use in
read more on israel-iran
The military said: "The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for
nuclear weapons
development."
High-yield plutonium is a material that can be used to fashion nuclear weapons.
Iranian media reported that air defences were activated in the area and that projectiles landed in the vicinity.
Officials told state TV that the site was evacuated and there was no casualties or risk of radiation.
Most read in The US Sun
Alongside Arak, Israel has confirmed strikes on the reactors at Natanz and Isfahan.
An IDF spokesperson later said that fighter jets had also struck the Bushehr
nuclear power
plant - which is the only working one in the country.
Trump 'has APPROVED Iran attack plans & is ready to give orders' as Israel 'strikes reactor' & Tehran hits hospital
But in a U-turn, the IDF then retracted the claim, with a spokesperson saying: "It was a mistake," and that he could not confirm nor deny that the facility had been targeted.
The head of Russia's nuclear
energy
corporation warned that an Israeli attack on Bushehr could lead to a "Chornobyl-style catastrophe".
Iran
has reported
Israel
to the the UN's nuclear watchdog over the
strikes
against its nuclear sites.
The regime accused
Israel
of "continuing its aggression and actions contrary to international laws that prohibit attacks on nuclear facilities".
After
If given the go-ahead, the plans would see the US join
Israel
in pounding
Iran
's nuke sites - which Tehran has warned would spark "all out war".
The UK is yet to declare whether it would stand with the US if it committed, as Attorney General Lord Hermer questions the legality of Israel's action, according to
Sky
, and Starmer held a Cobra meeting.
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Israel will need to launch a daring commando mission to destroy Iran's heavily fortified underground nuclear base
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Trump still refuses to confirm his plans in public, however: "I may do it, I may not do it," he said on Wednesday.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minster, Kazem Gharibabadi, hit back: 'If the US wants to actively intervene in support of Israel, Iran will have no other option but to use its tools to teach aggressors a lesson and defend itself."
Iran's Fordow nuclear development plant is likely to be the prime
target
of any imminent US airstrikes.
Israel doesn't have the weapons to strike the core of
Trump acknowledged the US is the only nation capable of blitzing the key nuke site, but added: "That doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all."
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Iran's state broadcasting building is a mangled wreck after heavy Israeli bombing
Credit: Getty
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Israel and Iran have been trading missiles for a week
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Smokes raises from a building of the Soroka hospital, Israel, after an Iranian strike
The giant plant, 125 miles south of capital Tehran is encased in steel more than 300 feet beneath solid rock and has so far escaped serious damage.
Defence Analyst Paul Beaver told The Sun: '
'It's protected by at least 90 metres of solid rock and has so far escaped serious damage.
'Options are to repeatedly bomb it for weeks until a breakthrough is achieved or a fultline is hit or launch an extremely risky ground offensive.
'But the Israeli military never ceases to amaze - and they may even have troops on the ground waiting to attack Fordow already.'
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