Israel destroys one of Iran's main plants for producing uranium in devastating blow

Irish Daily Star

16 hours ago

Israel claims to have destroyed the facility where Iran was producing enriched uranium in its quest to create
nuclear weapons
.
In
a statement on X on Friday evening
, the Israeli Defense Forces said they
targeted the nuclear site
in the Isfahan region, which is believed to be the location where Iran was attempting to produce the weapons.
"At this moment, Air Force fighter jets have
completed an attack
on the Iranian regime's nuclear site in the Isfahan area, under precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Branch. The site is undergoing a process of 'reconversion' of enriched uranium," the IDF wrote at 8:39 p.m. local time.
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"This is the next stage after uranium enrichment in the process of producing nuclear weapons," the IDF wrote. "The attack destroyed a structure for producing metallic uranium, infrastructure for converting enriched uranium, laboratories, and other infrastructure."
Israel described the ferocious attack at the "heart" of Iran's nuclear program as just the beginning as it vowed to eradicate the program once and for all as well as launch a more full-scale war with its main Middle Eastern rival.
The assault, which occurred overnight on Thursday, is the most severe attack Iran has endured since the 1980s, when it was in conflict with Iraq.
Iran retaliated on Friday evening by sending missiles flying into Israel
(Image: AP)
Iran swiftly unleashed a barrage of drones toward Israel in retaliation, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing "severe punishment."
The counterstrike came after a reprimand from the U.N.'s atomic watchdog the day prior, which criticized Iran for failing to adhere to agreements designed to block its path toward developing nuclear weapons.
Israel hinted about the possibility of such an attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure for years and finally carried it out this week. The U.S. attempted to enter it, concerned that it might spark what it now has — a broader conflict in the Middle East that might not result in the effective dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program.
The initial Israeli strikes struck several locations, including the one in Isfahan and the main one in Natanz, where plumes of black smoke were observed. Later in the day, Israel announced it had taken out several radar installations for surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.
Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the operation had "significantly damaged" the facility in Natanz, but added that the mission was "still in the beginning."
Iran's top military leaders Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Gen. Hossein Salami and Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh were all killed in the strikes. The first of them oversaw all the armed forces. The second was the leader of the parliamentary Revolutionary Guard. And the third directed the Guard's ballistic missile program.
Protests against the strikes from Israel croped up in several other Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq
(Image: AP)
Taking to his Truth Social account early Friday morning, U.S. President
Donald Trump
penned a scathing message about the deal with Iran as he warned the country that everyone in it would be "dead" if leaders don't come to the table to finish the nuclear deal — which would prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.
"I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done," Trump wrote.
He also claimed he warned Iran that an Israeli attack might be imminent and how much damage one would cause, should one occur.
"I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it," the president wrote.
Trump added that "certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely" but ultimately "didn't know what was about to happen." He used their alleged subsequent deaths to bolster his warning message to the Middle Eastern state.
"They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" he wrote. "There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!"
In another post on Friday morning, Trump pressured Iran to get the nuclear deal done, noting the 60-day ultimatum he gave the country to reach an agreement — a timeframe that passed. He said they "perhaps" have a second chance now, however.