Israeli military says targeted nuclear sites in Iran's Arak, Natanz
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had targeted the nuclear reactor in the area of Arak in Iran overnight and what it called a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz.
An area near the heavy-water research reactor in Khondab, part of Iran's nuclear program, was hit by Israel, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported on Thursday.
Officials announced the facility was evacuated prior to the attack and there is no radiation risk, ISNA added.
The research reactor was partially built and previously known as Arak, with Tehran informing the UN nuclear watchdog that it plans operating the facility next year.
On Thursday morning, a missile warning was issued by Israel's military and explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The Israeli military said several civilian areas, including a hospital, were hit by Iranian missile strikes.
In Iran, the ISNA news agency reported that an area near the heavy water facility of the Khondab nuclear facility was targeted by Israel.
Earlier, air defenses were activated in Tehran, intercepting drones on the outskirts of the capital, the semi-official SNN news agency reported. Iranian news agencies also reported it had arrested 18 'enemy agents' who were building drones for Israeli attacks in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was 'progressing step by step' towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.
'We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,' Netanyahu said.
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump, 'a great friend of the state of Israel,' for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact.
Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it.
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