The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities at Arak, a reactor that used heavy water in its operations and which was poised to produce weapons-grade plutonium for Iran’s nuclear program.
The IDF said in a statement:
Overnight (Thursday), 40 IAF fighter jets, with the precise intelligence direction of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, struck dozens of military targets in Tehran and additional areas throughout Iran, using over 100 munitions.
As part of the strikes, and as part of the broad effort to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the nuclear reactor in the area of Arak in Iran was targeted, including the structure of the reactor’s core seal, which is a key component in plutonium production.
Construction of the reactor began in 1997 but was not completed due to international community intervention.
The reactor was originally intended for the production of weapons-grade plutonium, capable of enabling the development of nuclear weapons. In light of various agreements, in recent years the Iranian regime advanced its conversion to produce low-grade plutonium, which is not suitable for the production of nuclear weapons. However, the regime deliberately ordered not to complete the conversion that would have prevented its use for nuclear weapons — in order to exert pressure on the West.
The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development.
Additionally, the IAF struck a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz. The site contained components and specialized equipment used to advance nuclear weapons development, and projects designed to accelerate the regime’s nuclear program were hosted there.
Furthermore, the IAF also struck military production sites belonging to the Iranian regime, including factories producing raw materials, components used in assembling ballistic missiles, and sites for the production of Iranian air defense systems and missiles.
Additionally, air defense batteries, surface-to-surface missile storage sites, detection radar systems, and detection equipment belonging to the Iranian regime, were neutralized from the air.
As Israel was attacking Iran’s nuclear program, Iran was firing missiles at civilian population centers in Israel. One missile hit a hospital, the Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, in southern Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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