The race against time to destroy Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program heats up amid fresh strikes

The Iranian regime’s retention of cardinal atomic weapons accommodation and its worldly for building atomic bombs — highly enriched uranium — has led to caller efforts by nan U.S. and Israeli militaries to return retired nan past vestiges of nan regime's program.

On Friday, nan Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said successful a connection that, that it's "Air Force Struck nan Arak Heavy Water Plant—A Key Plutonium Production Site for Nuclear Weapons." The Arak works is located successful cardinal Iran.

Prior to Friday's attack, an IDF spokesperson told Fox News Digital concerning Arak, that location is simply a "high estimation" that attacks connected "uranium enrichment sites are portion of nan plan." The IDF declined to reply much circumstantial questions astir its target database and if immoderate crushed operations to retrieve nan atomic weapons-grade uranium were being considered.

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An IDF infographic shows Iran’s Arak dense h2o plant, described arsenic a cardinal infrastructure for plutonium production. (IDF)

Reuters, quoting authorities media outlet Fars, reported that associated U.S.-Israeli strikes connected Friday deed nan Khondab dense h2o investigation reactor. 

A connection released by nan IDF said, "Heavy h2o is simply a unsocial worldly utilized to run atomic reactors, specified arsenic nan inactive Arak reactor, which was primitively designed to person weapons-grade plutonium accumulation capabilities. These materials tin besides beryllium utilized arsenic a neutron root for atomic weapons."

The IDF connection added that "The works was a important economical plus for nan panic authorities and served arsenic a root of income for nan Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, generating tens of millions of dollars for nan authorities each year."

The regime's overseas curate posted a condemnation of Israel and warned nan Jewish state, "Iran will nonstop HEAVY value for Israeli crimes."

According to an article published by nan Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), "The IR-40 Arak, aka Khondab, Heavy Water Reactor and Heavy Water Production Plant day to nan early 2000s… The reactor halfway creation was perfect for making important amounts of weapon-grade plutonium for atomic weapons."

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Jason Brodsky, nan argumentation head of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital, "The 1 atomic tract which hasn’t been deed to day has been Pickaxe Mountain, truthful striking that tract arsenic portion of Operation Epic Fury will beryllium important to further degrade nan Iranian atomic program."

A White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to President Trump’s furniture gathering comments astir Iran’s atomic weapons program. Trump said connected Thursday, "We're free to roam complete their cities and towns and destruct each of their crazy atomic weapons and missiles and drones that they're building."

A representation shows harm to Iran's Fordow atomic tract aft being struck by nan United States successful Operation Midnight Hammer connected June 22, 2025. (Fox News)

David Albright, a physicist, laminitis and president of nan Institute for Science and International Security told Fox News Digital that pinch respect to cardinal atomic weapons accommodation that remain, "The elephants successful nan shelter are Natanz and Isfahan. There was an onslaught connected Natanz that nan Iranians revealed, but nan Israelis said we are not alert of an attack. So it must person been nan U.S.," he claimed.

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He said that Natanz has enriched uranium. "The Iranians were doing betterment operations successful nan underground substance enrichment works location and continuing to build this pickaxe upland passageway complex, which could clasp enriched uranium. Right adjacent to it is different passageway analyzable that was built overmuch earlier, astir 2007… And nan Iranians sealed it up, fortified it. There is thing evidently important there."

Albright said U.S. and Israeli airstrikes "have not attacked the underground Isfahan site. We know, according to nan IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], highly enriched uranium is successful that site." He continued that, "There whitethorn beryllium an enrichment works nether building successful that underground complex. We would for illustration that tract to beryllium attacked."

Iranian worshippers clasp up their hands arsenic signs of unity pinch Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an anti-Israeli rally to condemn Israel's attacks connected Iran, successful downtown Tehran, Iran, connected June 20, 2025.  (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Albright warned that nan warfare should not extremity for illustration nan erstwhile U.S.-Israel warfare pinch Iran successful 2025 pinch Tehran retaining nan "crown jewels" of its atomic weapons program: highly enriched uranium and a number of centrifuges.

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He warned, "You don’t want it to travel retired of this warfare pinch nan aforesaid benignant of atomic weapons capabilities that it had astatine nan extremity of June warfare pinch a higher inducement to build a bomb." He added, that is why it's truthful important 'to decorativeness nan job," successful Iran.