Latest news with #Arak
BBC News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Israel strikes unfinished Arak heavy water reactor in Iran
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 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 confirmed the reactor was hit and that it contained no nuclear fuel from heavy water reactors contains plutonium suitable for a nuclear - 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. Follow live updates as strikes continueWhat caused the latest conflict, and where could it lead?Video: How close is Iran to a nuclear weapon?BBC Verify: The secretive nuclear site only a US bomb could hitWhat are the risks of bombing Fordo? 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 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 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 aerial footage of the attack released by the military appeared to show a bomb hitting the domed roof of the reactor building and several large explosions from Arak, which about 250km (155 miles) south-west of Tehran and is also known as video broadcast by Iranian state TV showed two large plumes of white smoke rising from the facility. It also cited Iranian officials as saying that the site had been "secured in advance" and that there was "no contamination resulting from the attack".Satellite imagery showed a large hole in the reactor building's visible were what analysts identified as destroyed distillation towers belonging to the adjacent heavy water production plant. The IAEA said it had no information indicating that the heavy water plant was hit. The Israeli military also announced on Thursday that its fighter jets had struck a "nuclear weapons development site" at is the location of Iran's main plant producing enriched uranium, which is used to make reactor fuel for power stations but, if further enriched, can be used in nuclear first wave of Israeli strikes last Friday destroyed the above-ground part of Natanz's Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), where cascades of centrifuges were enriching uranium, as well as electricity infrastructure at the Grossi, the IAEA director general, told the BBC on Monday that while there was no sign of a physical attack on the underground centrifuge hall at Natanz, the sudden loss of power was likely to have severely damaged, if not destroyed, the centrifuges operating buildings were destroyed in a separate attack on Friday on the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre, he said. But very little, if any, damage was visible at Iran's underground enrichment plant at Fordo, he Donald Trump is said to be weighing up whether the US should participate in a strike on Fordo because it is the only country with a conventional bomb large enough to destroy it. Sources told the BBC's US partner CBS News that his mindset was that disabling the facility was necessary. In 2018, Trump abandoned the nuclear deal with Iran, saying it did too little to stop its pathway to a bomb, and reinstated US sanctions that crippled the Iranian retaliated by increasingly breaching the restrictions - particularly those relating to the production of enriched its quarterly report, the IAEA expressed concern that Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched up to 60% purity - a short, technical step away from weapons grade, or 90% - to potentially make nine nuclear Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said on Friday that it was targeting the Iranian nuclear programme because "if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time". He did not provide any Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said on Sunday that Israel had "crossed a new red line in international law" by attacking nuclear sites. He also insisted that Iran's doctrine was "rooted in our belief in the prohibition and illegitimacy of nuclear weapons".Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, although it neither confirms nor denies Israeli air strikes have also destroyed Iranian military facilities and weapons, and killed senior military commanders and nuclear health ministry said on Sunday that at least 224 people had been killed, but a human rights group put the unofficial death toll at 639 on has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the air strikes that have killed at least 24 people, according to the prime minister's office.
The National
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Iran to meet European powers as war with Israel enters second week
Iran will hold talks with European powers on Friday in a first glimmer of peace hopes as its air war with Israel enters a second week. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet his counterparts from Britain, Germany, France and the EU in Geneva. French minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tehran had signalled it was willing to negotiate "provided that a ceasefire can be achieved". US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Araghchi have spoken by phone several times since the air war began, diplomatic sources told Reuters. The White House signalled that President Donald Trump had yet to decide whether to enter the war. Israel widened its attack on Iran's nuclear programme on a seventh day of strikes on Thursday. Fighter pilots hit a heavy water reactor in Arak to stop Iran using it to produce plutonium, the Israeli military said. The factory has been a source of concern as it could provide Iran with an alternative to enriching uranium, and UN inspectors have little knowledge about its operations. The International Atomic Energy Agency said there were "no radiological effects". The Israeli air force also hit an alleged "nuclear weapons development site" near Natanz. Israel walked back from claims it had also hit a functioning nuclear power plant along the Gulf coast. An Iranian diplomat told Reuters that Bushehr was not hit and Israel was waging "psychological warfare" by discussing it. Any attack on the plant, near Arab neighbours and housing Russian technicians, is viewed as risking nuclear disaster. Iran responded with a further wave of strikes. The southern Soroka hospital in Israel was heavily damaged in an apparent ballistic missile attack. The hospital has more than 1,000 beds and provides services to about one million residents of Israel's south. The National heard the sounds of missile interceptions and impacts for at least 10 minutes in Jerusalem. The fire service said there was a 'direct hit' on a residential building in the Tel Aviv area. Israel expressed outrage. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei"can no longer be allowed to exist", just days after reports that the US vetoed plans to assassinate him. "Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed - he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals," Mr Katz told journalists near Tel Aviv. "Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist." Iran said it had caused only "superficial damage" to the hospital, claiming it had aimed at an Israeli intelligence site nearby. Mr Araghchi contrasted the strike with bombings of Gaza 's medical facilities during Israel's invasion of the strip. "It is the Israeli regime and not Iran that initiated all this bloodshed, and it is Israeli war criminals and not Iranians who are targeting hospitals and civilians," he said. Israeli medics said dozens of people were injured across the country, including two seriously, in what appeared to be Iran's largest barrage since the war broke out. The Israeli army accused Iran of targeting civilians. "This is exactly why we launched this operation. We cannot allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons," said Israeli Brig Gen Effie Defrin. Iran denies it is developing atomic weapons. Before Israel's attack it had held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on a possible nuclear deal, replacing a 2015 pact that was abandoned by Mr Trump during his first term. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would welcome "all help" with destroying Iran's nuclear sites. Tehran on Thursday turned its anger on the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, who has repeatedly said he cannot be sure whether Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said reports by Mr Grossi's IAEA were "aboslutely biased". "Misleading narratives have dire consequences, Mr Grossi, and demand accountability," he said. Mr Grossi retorted that his warnings "could never be conceived as a justification" for war. No clear path to peace has emerged despite countries such as Oman and Russia being floated as mediators. However, Iran's Tasnim news agency said the planned meeting in Geneva "appears to be a promising sign of diplomatic efforts". France's Mr Barrot said his country had a "willingness to resume negotiations, provided that these negotiations can lead to a lasting, substantial reversal by Iran of its nuclear programme, its ballistic missile programme and its regional destabilisation activities'. A UK official said Foreign Secretary David Lammy was ready for talks to "press for a diplomatic solution". An agreement is needed 'to address the nuclear issue for the long term', they told The National. A spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had briefed Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, on the planned meetings. Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, called for resistance against Israel's attacks to force it into negotiations. He said that "nobody is looking for a lengthy war", according to Iranian media. Travel disruption continued around the Middle East. The war has forced the cancellation and delay of hundreds of flights at airports, leaving thousands of travellers stranded abroad. 'The situation is absolutely ridiculous,' Iraqi citizen Mujtaba told The National as he stood outside an Iraqi Airways office in Beirut waiting for a way home. "It's all a farce." Shipping company Maersk said it would pause calling at the port of Haifa in Israel. It will continue to operate vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Wall Street Journal
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Israel Strikes Iran's Heavy-Water Reactor in Arak
Israel's military said it hit Iran's heavy-water reactor in Arak as well as what it described as a site used for the development of nuclear weapons in the city of Natanz. Arak's heavy-water reactor, which is under construction, is important for spent-fuel reprocessing. Israel's military Wednesday night told people to evacuate the central Iranian cities of Arak and Khondab ahead of the strike.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israel strikes Iranian nuclear reactor
Israel struck an Iranian reactor in the central city of Arak on Thursday in its latest efforts to destroy the regime's nuclear programme. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted Iran's heavy water nuclear reactor, striking what it described as 'a key component in plutonium production'. A black-and-white video, circulated online by the IDF, showed a missile crashing into the target, followed by a large explosion. Both sides have been fighting for nearly a week since Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. On Thursday, Israel said its warplanes also struck a facility at Natanz, a key Iranian nuclear site, which was being used to develop nuclear weapons, a military spokesman said. 'The site houses unique components and equipment used for the development of nuclear weapons, and hosts projects that enable the acceleration of the nuclear weapons programme,' the IDF said. Earlier on Thursday, the IDF announced it had struck a nuclear site in Bushehr, which sits on the Gulf coast and is understood to be Iran's only operating power plant. The announcement caused concern among neighbouring Gulf states because of the contamination risk to the surrounding air and water. But Israel was forced to retract the statement admitting it had been a 'mistake'. When pushed, the spokesman said it could 'neither confirm nor deny' whether the reactor was attacked. Israel has said its goal for the war is to demolish Iran's nuclear programme, which the West fears is close to building a bomb. Some officials signalling that the attacks are also aimed at forcing the collapse of the Iranian regime, with possible US support in the near future. The Arak nuclear reactor has been a key feature of Iran's nuclear programme for decades, with Tehran insisting that it is only used for civilian purposes and not for the creation of nuclear bombs. Iran agreed in 2016 to remove the core of the Arak reactor and fill it up with concrete, under the now-defunct Iran nuclear deal, which eased sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbing the nuclear programme. The first Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear pact in 2018. In 2019, Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's nuclear programme chief, said Tehran had replaced a calandria, a key component in the reactor, so that work on the programme could resume. The IDF said: 'The reactor is designed to produce high-yield plutonium, which would enable the acquisition of nuclear weapons. The attack was carried out against the component intended for producing plutonium, thus preventing its ability to be reused to produce nuclear weapons.' It added that it had also carried out overnight strikes involving 40 aircraft and 100 munitions against several Iranian military facilities. Later on Thursday, Zohar Palti, a former senior Mossad officer, said he believed Israel 'should declare victory' after successful attacks on most of Iran's nuclear sites. 'Now that Israel has succeeded in striking most of its nuclear targets in Iran, Israel has a window of two or three days to declare the victory and end the war,' he told The New York Times. Israel is rapidly burning through missile interceptors to counter Iranian attacks, and may have to make difficult decisions about which areas to prioritise for air defence if the war drags on at length, The New York Times report suggested.
Al Bawaba
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Iran-Israel showdown escalates after Israeli strike on Arak nuclear facility
Published June 19th, 2025 - 05:30 GMT NBC quoted Israeli intelligence admitting Iran's recent missile barrage left them with 'less time to prepare,' acknowledging Iran still holds ample missile stockpiles and capacity for prolonged attacks. ALBAWABA- Iranian air defenses confronted 'hostile targets' over northern Tehran Thursday night, amid claims from Israeli sources that the Arak nuclear facility was destroyed using specialized bunker-penetrating weapons, incinerating its underground infrastructure. Also Read Israel's Soroka hospital hit in latest Iranian missile barrage Satellite imagery and verified videos reveal significant damage to the reactor dome at Iran's Arak heavy water facility, attacked earlier this morning by the Israeli Air Force in what Tehran calls a dangerous new provocation. At least six precision-guided bombs struck the reactor's containment building, marking a serious escalation targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Iran has not confirmed the strike but accuses Israel of waging war on its peaceful nuclear program. Footage of Israeli jets bombing the unfinished nuclear reactor at Iran's Arak heavy water reactor complex this morning. At least 6 guided bombs hit the reactor containment building. — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 19, 2025 Iranian officials lashed out at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with the Deputy Foreign Minister accusing its Director General of silence and bias, calling him a tool of the U.S. and Israel. Tehran announced it will submit official evidence to the UN Security Council over the IAEA's alleged complicity. Meanwhile, NBC quoted Israeli intelligence admitting Iran's recent missile barrage left them with 'less time to prepare,' acknowledging Iran still holds ample missile stockpiles and capacity for prolonged attacks. Interception rates reportedly dropped from 90% to 65% in the last 24 hours. Iran's retaliatory strikes on Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheva have been described as the deadliest yet, hitting key Israeli military and intelligence sites, including the Tel Aviv stock exchange and Soroka military hospital. Iran's Parliament Speaker declared, 'We've proven we can strike any target in Tel Aviv or Haifa,' blaming U.S. backing for Israel's continued aggression. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
