Israel strikes Iran's Arak water reactor after Ali Khamenei's refusal to ‘surrender'
Written By Fareha Naaz
Published 19 Jun 2025, 11:16 AM IST A satellite image of Iran's Arak water reactor before it was blown by a missile strike on June 19. (Maxar Technologies via REUTERS)
As trade of attack continues between Israel and Iran for the seventh straight day, Israel attacked Iran's Arak heavy water reactor on Thursday, June 19, Iranian state television reported. "The missiles roared over Tel Aviv," Iran's local news agency Fars reported.
As per the report the region was effectively evacuated before the missile strike struck the region which is 250 kilometres (155 miles) southwest of Tehran.
According to the report, there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever."
Before the attack, Israel's military issued a warning in a social media post on X about its targeted missile strike, urging people to evacuate the area around Iran's Arak heavy water reactor. This warning included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle similar to other previous warnings issued before airstrikes.
This comes a day after Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei rejected US calls for surrender and ignored warnings from US President Donald Trump.
The heavy water reactor was partially built. Iran planned to make the facility functional next year, Reuters reported.
The Arak facility helps cool nuclear reactors and produces plutonium as a byproduct. This secondary product can potentially be used in nuclear weapons which would enable Iran to have access to another bomb beyond enriched uranium if it decides to pursue the weapon.
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