Wowza.
It's no surprise that Israel has destroyed Iran's Arak nuclear reactor. After all, it was a key element of Iran's program to build nuclear weaponry, and a very vulnerable target.
The only strategic reason not to attack it was the fact that it could have contained highly radioactive material, and Israel had to balance the benefit of denying its use to Iran against the consequences of releasing dangerous and long-lived radioactive material if the supposedly inactive reactor held fissionable material.
That was a relatively low risk given the fact that the reactor was supposedly never completed, but it would hardly be shocking if Iran secretly used the site for storage of radioactive material.
⭕This nuclear reactor in Arak was created for one purpose: to build a nuclear bomb.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 19, 2025
It has now been neutralized. Here is a closer look at the reactor itself: pic.twitter.com/4KBDsgp8IN
At a minimum, destruction of the facility denies Iran the possibility of its use in the future.
What IS surprising is that Israel can release footage of the destruction from relatively close on the ground.
🚨 Breaking: Israel Air Force released footage of attack on Arak nuclear reactor earlier today 👇
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) June 19, 2025
The reactor was intended for producing plutonium for nuclear weapons. It's now gone, and the world is a safer place, thanks to Israel 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/jf5cYvH2aa
It is a shocking--or would be, before this war began--example of how deeply Israel has penetrated Iran's population. Whether the people filming the strike were Israeli soldiers/spies or local supporters, it suggests that Israel can place people on the ground in some of the most sensitive places in Iran.
Full @IDF Statement:
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) June 19, 2025
The IAF struck dozens of military targets including an inactive nuclear reactor in the area of Arak
Overnight (Thursday), 40 IAF fighter jets, with the precise intelligence direction of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, struck dozens of military targets in…
Full @IDF Statement:
The IAF struck dozens of military targets including an inactive nuclear reactor in the area of Arak
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.
Iran still has limited capacity to extract some cost for Israel's strikes in Iran--a ballistic missile struck a heavily populated region of Tel Aviv and hit an evacuated hospital, but that capacity is diminishing rapidly.
That's my colleague's Tel Aviv office gone, where I work and hold meetings when I'm there.
— An Israeli mother (@IsraMum) June 19, 2025
pic.twitter.com/9Do13Yejqd
🚨 Huge missile hits residential buildings and offices in Tel Aviv
— Kosher🎗 (@koshercockney) June 19, 2025
This is home to Jews, Christians and Muslim.
The Ayotollah doesn’t care if he murders people of his own faith, it’s just bloodlust for civilians.
You really want to allow Iran Nukes?
pic.twitter.com/bdfmttRyK8
🇮🇷🇮🇱🚨‼️ Tel Aviv Stock Exchange now, it will be out of business for a while pic.twitter.com/dt2HPjntcd
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 19, 2025
But the military capacity between the two nations is so asymmetrical that it is hard to comprehend. A nation of fewer than 10 million people can strike and cripple the military capacity of another that has 92 million, fly with impunity over its skies, destroy infrastructure at will, and decapitate its military.
It's stunning.
IDF says over the past days it thwarted attempts to restore launch sites that had been previously targeted.
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) June 19, 2025
Interesting to see some of the targets are excavators - IDF likely blocked entrance to several "missile cities" pic.twitter.com/Mvf4yGRaGq
Still, short of US intervention from the air, Iran will maintain at least some of its nuclear capacity, should the regime not fall. Successful regime change wars without boots on the ground have proven to be a tough nut to crack.
I would bet that it is more likely than not that Trump strikes Iran's underground nuclear facilities, but he is being very coy about that.
President Trump on striking Iran: "I may do it. I may not do it."
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) June 18, 2025
This is the ideal foreign policy. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.pic.twitter.com/v5F4jfNyoS
All the elements are in place for a strike, and Trump has made his demands clear: unconditional surrender, which means complete destruction of all Iran's nuclear capacity. He does not demand regime change, though.
President Trump explains what an "unconditional surrender" would mean for Iran.
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) June 18, 2025
"That means I've had it, I give up... then we go blow up all of the nuclear stuff." pic.twitter.com/IXmVTVCVml
Israel and the United States can strike with impunity. Israel already is, and even has limited capacity to strike on the ground in surgical operations.
It's up to Trump to decide whether the benefits of striking outweigh the costs.
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