As war between the United States and Israel and Iran has flared, Iran's nuclear facilities have come under successive airstrikes. It is seen as an attempt to damage Iran's nuclear capability. No radioactive material leaks were reported.
On the 27th (local time), Fars News Agency said an experimental heavy-water reactor facility in central Iran was bombed that day. The deputy governor for political and security affairs of Markazi Province in central Iran said, "The U.S. and the Zionist (Israel) enemy carried out targeted strikes in two phases against the Khondab heavy-water complex." There were no casualties. Thanks to advance safety measures, there were reportedly no radioactive leaks.
The Khondab heavy-water complex is in the Arak nuclear facility complex in Markazi Province. The experimental reactor at the complex was shut down under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA). Concrete was poured into the reactor core. In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal, Iranian authorities pushed to restart it. On June 12 last year, during the "12-day war," it was reportedly rendered inoperable again by Israeli airstrikes.
The complex also has a heavy-water production facility needed to run the heavy-water reactor. Even for experimental use, a heavy-water reactor that uses natural uranium instead of enriched uranium can produce plutonium, a nuclear weapons material.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on its own Telegram channel that a uranium processing facility in the central region was also attacked that day. The organization said, "A few minutes ago, the uranium concentrate (yellowcake) production plant in Ardakan, Yazd Province, came under attack by the joint forces of the United States and Israel." It said there was no release of radioactive materials.
The Israeli military confirmed the airstrikes on the Khondab heavy-water reactor and the uranium concentrate production plant. The Israeli military said, "We detected repeated attempts by the Iranian terror regime to rebuild at the site." It added, "Despite international commitments such as the nuclear deal, the Iranian regime has evaded modifying the reactor to make it impossible to produce weapons-grade plutonium," and "even deliberately ordered that the modification work not be completed." The Israeli military characterized the uranium concentrate production facility as a "uranium extraction facility."
The strikes on nuclear facilities came shortly after Israel warned it would raise the level of retaliation in response to Iran's missile attacks. Earlier, Fars News Agency reported that the Khuzestan Steel Company in southwestern Iran and the Mobarakeh Steel Company in central Isfahan were attacked. Iran strongly protested and vowed harsh retaliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X, "This attack directly contradicts the U.S. president's pledge to extend the deadline for a diplomatic solution," adding, "Iran will exact a severe price for these crimes."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also signaled retaliatory strikes in a statement. It said, "Despite warnings to refrain from attacks, the United States and Israel have attacked Iran's industrial centers multiple times," and added, "To protect their lives, employees at industries with U.S. stakeholders in the Middle East or at heavy industries linked to the Zionist regime (Israel) must leave their workplaces immediately."