IAF bombs Arak heavy water reactor and Kheirabad industrial zone — confirmed strike, no casualties reported

The IDF officially confirmed on 27 March 2026 that the IAF bombed Iran's Arak heavy water reactor — the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor — citing it as 'key infrastructure for producing plutonium for nuclear weapons.' The IDF statement: 'Repeated reconstruction attempts by the Iranian terror regime at the site were later identified. Therefore, the IDF has struck the facility once again.' IDF nuclear justification: 'Even in its current state the heavy water can also be used as a neutron source for nuclear weapons.' The IDF accused Iran of deliberately leaving the conversion to a safer design incomplete: 'Despite explicit international commitments, foremost among them the nuclear agreement, the Iranian terror regime has systematically avoided converting the reactor so that it would not enable the production of weapons-grade plutonium, and even deliberately ordered that the conversion not be completed.' Economic dimension: 'The plant was also a significant economic asset for the terror regime and served as a source of income for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, generating tens of millions of dollars for the regime each year.' Under the 2015 JCPOA, the reactor core was removed and filled with concrete — but Iran never completed the full redesign. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization had been rebuilding the complex since June 2025.