Iran’s heavy water production plant no longer operational, IAEA says

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday that Iran’s heavy water production plant at Khondab, which the country reported had been attacked on March 27, has suffered severe damage and is no longer operational.

The installation contains no declared nuclear material, the UN nuclear watchdog added in a social media post on X.

The Israeli military confirmed it struck a heavy water reactor and a uranium processing plant in central Iran on Friday.

“The Israeli Air Force… struck the heavy water plant in Arak, central Iran,” the military said in a statement, describing the site as a “key plutonium production site for nuclear weapons.”

Iranian media had reported that US-Israeli strikes hit the Khondab heavy water complex, saying they caused no casualties or radiation leak from the site.

Work on the reactor on the outskirts of the village of Khondab began in the 2000s, but was halted under the terms of a now-abandoned 2015 nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers.

The core of the reactor was removed and concrete was poured into it, rendering it inoperative.

The research reactor was officially intended to produce plutonium for medical research and the site includes a production plant for heavy water.

The Israeli military also confirmed it struck a uranium processing site in central Iran’s Yazd on Friday, after Iran’s atomic energy organization said US-Israeli strikes hit the facility.

“The Israeli Air Force… struck a uranium extraction plant located in Yazd, central Iran,” the military said in a statement, describing the site as a “unique facility in Iran used for the production of raw materials required for the uranium enrichment process.”

Iran’s atomic energy organization said the strike on the plant “did not result in the release of any radioactive material.”

Israel and the US accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains that its program is for civilian purposes.

The heavy water plant in Arak was targeted by Israeli strikes during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last June, during which the US also carried out bombings.

The Middle East was plunged into war on February 28 when the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, triggering retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and several countries in the region.