Israel strikes Iran’s Arak nuclear reactor; no radiation threat reported

Tehran: Israel has launched an airstrike on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, Iranian state television confirmed on Thursday, adding that the site had been evacuated in advance and there was “no radiation danger whatsoever.”

The Israeli military had issued a rare public warning earlier in the day via social media, urging civilians near the Arak facility to evacuate, accompanied by satellite imagery of the site marked for targeting. The Arak reactor, located roughly 250 kilometres southwest of Tehran, was one of the sites Iran agreed to modify under the 2015 nuclear deal to prevent it from producing weapons-grade plutonium.

Thursday’s strike marks a major escalation in Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. In recent days, Israel has already targeted Iran’s enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge production facilities near Tehran, and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists have also been killed in previous strikes, according to Israeli and Western sources.

Iran has responded with significant firepower—launching over 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israeli targets, killing at least 24 people and injuring hundreds more. The latest round of exchanges comes amid heightened rhetoric, with Iran’s Supreme Leader recently warning the US against military involvement and Israel signalling no let-up in its campaign.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned Israel against targeting nuclear sites, citing risks of contamination and regional instability. Inspectors last visited Arak on May 14, but have since reported a loss of “continuity of knowledge” due to restrictions imposed by Tehran.

While Iran claims the facility had been safely shut down and evacuated, the strike on Arak adds a new layer of urgency to international concerns over the regional conflict escalating into a nuclear crisis.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran had agreed to redesign the Arak facility and export excess heavy water to limit its plutonium production capabilities. The deal, abandoned by the US in 2018 under President Donald Trump, had involved support from Britain and other Western nations to oversee Arak’s modifications.

This is a developing story. Updates to follow.
(With AFP inputs)