Israel strikes area near Iran's Arak heavy water reactor

Military posts satellite image with red circle around plant as attacks on Tehran continue

The Israeli military issued a warning to residents to leave two villages near Iran's Arak heavy water reactor. AP

The Israeli military struck an area near Iran's Arak heavy water reactor on Thursday morning, hours after it told people to leave, state media reported.

The military said it had targeted the Arak nuclear reactor in Iran overnight, and struck what it said was a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz.

Officials said the Arak base (also known as Khondab) was evacuated before the attack and assured the public there was no radiation risk, the Iranian Student News Agency reported.

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Iranian media reported on Thursday morning that air defences were activated, with two projectiles hitting an area nearby. A few hours before the warning, the Israeli army said it was carrying out strikes in and around Tehran, as well as in other locations in Iran.

It wrote a Telegram post in Arabic and Farsi warning "residents, workers and those present in the area of the two Iranian villages of Arak and Khondab, in the areas marked on the map, to evacuate immediately" before the attacks.

The post included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle, similar to previous Israeli army warnings.

The plant, which helps cool nuclear reactors, is 250km from Tehran. It also produces plutonium, which can be used in the production of nuclear weapons.

The factory has been a source of concern as it could provide Iran with an alternative to enriching uranium, should it be seeking to pursue a nuclear weapon.

Iran's Arak nuclear plant in a Maxar Technologies satellite image. EPA

The decommissioning of Arak as a producer of plutonium was a key aspect of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, when its reactor was filled with concrete. However, the accord collapsed in 2018 when US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew.

Iran has since restricted International Atomic Energy Agency inspections, meaning the nuclear watchdog has little knowledge about what now happens at Arak.

The IAEA said later on Thursday that the heavy water research reactor had been hit, without any radiological effects as a result. The heavy water plant had not been attacked, it added.

"IAEA has information the Khondab [formerly Arak] heavy water research reactor, under construction, was hit," the IAEA said in a post on X. "It was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so no radiological effects. At present, IAEA has no information indicating the heavy water plant was hit."

Iran offline

Meanwhile, Iran has been offline for more than 12 hours, according to NetBlocks, a connectivity monitor. “The measure continues to hinder residents' access to information at a critical time,” NetBlocks said in a post on X.

Authorities have announced curbs on the internet as well as on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram, accusing Israel of misusing them for military purposes.

Iranian media said Israel had briefly hacked state television and broadcast footage from the 2022 women’s protests against the regime and called on people to take to the streets.

Iran’s state television later warned viewers this was “due to cyber attacks carried out by the Zionist enemy that is disrupting the satellite transmission”.