The Israeli Air Force struck the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor near Arak in central Iran on Friday, targeting what the IDF described as “key infrastructure for producing plutonium for nuclear weapons,” according to The Times of Israel. The strike marks the second time Israel has bombed the 40-megawatt facility, which was first hit during the June 2025 war.
The IDF stated that Iran had undertaken repeated reconstruction attempts at the site following the earlier strike.
“Repeated reconstruction attempts by the Iranian terror regime at the site were later identified. Therefore, the IDF has struck the facility once again,” the military said.
🎯 STRUCK: Arak Heavy Water Plant in Central Iran—A Key Plutonium Production Site for Nuclear Weapons
The IDF will not allow the Iranian regime to continue advancing its nuclear weapons program, which poses an existential threat to Israel and the entire world. pic.twitter.com/wdFQ03TQZr
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 27, 2026
The Israeli military reportedly issued advance warnings and urged residents in nearby areas to evacuate before the strike.
Israeli forces simultaneously struck a yellowcake production plant at Ardakan in Yazd Province, expanding the operation beyond the Arak complex. Yellowcake, a concentrated uranium powder, serves as an early-stage feedstock in nuclear fuel and possibly weapons development programs.
כחלק מהפגיעה המתמשכת בתוכנית הגרעין של משטר הטרור האיראני: צה”ל תקף מפעל יחיד מסוגו באיראן ששימש לייצור חומרי המוצא הנדרשים לתהליך העשרת אורניום
חיל האוויר בהכוונה מדויקת של אמ”ן, תקף לפני זמן קצר מפעל למיצוי אורניום ממחצבים הממוקם ביזד שבמרכז איראן.
המפעל הינו היחיד מסוגו… pic.twitter.com/ZzjXRDJFMP
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 27, 2026
Iranian officials reported no casualties from either strike and stated that no radioactive material had been released.
The Khondab reactor, officially designated the IR-40, is a natural-uranium, heavy-water-moderated design capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium as a byproduct of normal operation. Iran has maintained the facility serves exclusively civilian purposes, including research and the production of medical isotopes. Western governments and nonproliferation analysts have long assessed the reactor as a dual-use asset with significant weapons potential.
The strikes occurred against a backdrop of sustained U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported more than 1,900 deaths in Iran since the start of the campaign.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expects to conclude the war in “weeks, not months,” while diplomatic sources have recently told the Jerusalem Post that U.S.-Iran talks are “progressing slowly.”
