Israel strikes Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, state television says

Israeli attack on Iran's Arak reactor sparks conflict, with casualties on both sides and international concerns over nuclear proliferation.

Israel has attacked Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, Iranian state television said Thursday (June 19, 2025). The report said there was “no radiation danger whatsoever” and that the facility had already been evacuated before the attack.

Israel had warned earlier Thursday morning it would attack the facility and urged the public to flee the area.

Israel-Iran conflict LIVE - June 19, 2025

The warning came in a social media post on X. It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle, like other warnings that preceded strikes.

The Israeli military said Thursday’s round of airstrikes targeted Tehran and other areas of Iran, without elaborating. It later said Iran fired a new salvo of missiles at Israel and told the public to take shelter.

Israel's seventh day of airstrikes on Iran came a day after Iran’s supreme leader rejected U.S. calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.” Israel also lifted some restrictions on daily life, suggesting the missile threat from Iran on its territory was easing.

Already, Israel’s campaign has targeted Iran’s enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Its strikes have also killed top generals and nuclear scientists.