Israel intensifies its attacks on key nuclear facilities in Iran
Clashes between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran have escalated dramatically and are now entering their seventh consecutive day of intense exchanges of fire, placing the entire region at a critical level of tension. In the last few hours, the Iranian regime has launched a massive bombardment of Israeli territory, considered by Hebrew media to be the most intense missile attack to date, both in terms of its magnitude and the geographical dispersion of its impacts.
On Thursday morning, Iran fired some 30 missiles towards southern and central Israel, hitting residential areas and civilian targets. One of the most significant impacts occurred at the Soroka Medical Centre in the southern city of Beer Sheva, causing significant material damage and leaving dozens injured, including at least three in serious condition, according to the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service.
Air raid sirens sounded across the country and direct hits were also confirmed in cities such as Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Holon, where medical teams were deployed to treat the injured at multiple impact sites.
The Iranian attack raised international concern due to the proximity of the strikes to diplomatic missions. The Lithuanian Embassy in Israel reported that a missile fell just 200 metres from its headquarters in Ramat Gan. The same building also houses the embassies of Austria and Kenya, whose Foreign Ministry recalled that ‘diplomatic missions, protected by international law, must not be harmed and must be kept out of any conflict’.
In response to this attack, which Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described as a ‘war crime’, Israel launched a large-scale offensive against critical Iranian infrastructure. Katz directly accused Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, of hiding ‘in his fortified bunker’ while ordering attacks on Israeli hospitals and residential areas, and promised that he would ‘pay for his crimes’. For his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will demand ‘the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.’
Attack on key nuclear facilities
For its part, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) deployed 40 fighter jets, which carried out simultaneous and coordinated attacks overnight against dozens of military targets in Tehran and other regions of Iran, using more than 100 precision-guided munitions, according to the official statement from the Israel Defence Forces.
Among these bombings, the attack on the Arak nuclear reactor stands out. Construction of the reactor began in 1997 but was never completed due to pressure from the international community. Originally designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium, in recent years the Iranian regime had agreed to convert it to produce low-grade plutonium unsuitable for weapons.
However, according to Israel, Iran deliberately delayed the conversion to maintain pressure on the West. The Israeli attack targeted the key component for producing plutonium: the reactor core building. The destruction of this structure is intended to make it impossible to restore the reactor for military purposes.
At the same time, Israeli aircraft bombed a nuclear weapons development centre in Natanz, another strategic pillar of Iran's nuclear programme. According to the Israeli statement, Natanz stored components and specialised equipment to accelerate the nuclear programme, as well as advanced atomic weapons development projects.
The offensive was not limited to nuclear sites. The IAF also attacked military production factories, raw material plants for the manufacture of ballistic missiles, and Iranian air defence and missile assembly centres. In addition, air defence batteries, detection radar systems and ground-to-ground missile storage centres were destroyed, thereby weakening the Iranian regime's response capacity.
The possible intervention of the United States
As the escalation between Iran and Israel intensifies, the international community is watching with growing alarm the possibility of an even greater confrontation. According to Bloomberg, US officials are already preparing measures against Iran and are considering the option of launching additional attacks in the coming days, possibly over the weekend. Senior officials from several US federal agencies have reportedly begun preparations for this possible intervention, which could draw other regional and international actors into the conflict.