An Israeli airstrike in late October destroyed a top-secret nuclear weapons research facility in Iran, significantly damaging the country’s efforts to resume nuclear weapons research, according to Axios, which cited multiple sources including three US officials and one current and one former Israeli official. The attack, which occurred on October 25, targeted the Taleghan 2 facility located in the Parchin military complex, Tehran, the report said.
Damaging blow to Iran’s nuclear program
The facility had previously been described as inactive, but the attack destroyed advanced equipment used in the design of plastic explosives—critical components for detonating uranium in a nuclear device, the American news website reported citing Israeli and US officials as saying. This destruction is seen as a major setback for Iran’s efforts to resume nuclear weapons development.
A former Israeli official, briefed on the strike, stated that “This strike dealt a significant blow to Iran’s ambitions of advancing its nuclear weapons program”, according to the media company.
Iran’s denial of nuclear weapons intentions
Despite the attack, Iran continues to deny any plans to develop nuclear weapons. On November 9, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated the government’s stance, stating, “Iran is not after nuclear weapons, period.”
The Taleghan 2 facility, part of Iran’s Amad nuclear weapons program, was reportedly used for testing explosives necessary for nuclear detonations. The Amad program was officially halted in 2003, but the facility has been a point of concern for international observers. Following the Israeli airstrike, high-resolution satellite imagery acquired by the Institute for Science and International Security confirmed the complete destruction of the Taleghan 2 building.
“The Institute has acquired high-resolution satellite imagery of the Israeli missile strikes on the Parchin Military Complex in Iran. Four buildings were destroyed, including Taleghan 2, a facility formerly involved in nuclear weapons development during Iran’s Amad Plan in the early 2000s. The other three buildings are related to Iranian missile production involving the mixing of propellants for solid rocket motors,” the Institute for Science and International Security posted on X on October 30.
Retaliation following Iranian missile attack
The Israeli strike on Taleghan 2 was part of a broader response to Iran‘s missile attack on October 1. Israeli officials selected the facility as a target for retaliation, strategically targeting a location with significance to Iran‘s nuclear ambitions. However, since Taleghan 2 was not part of Iran’s officially declared nuclear program, acknowledging the strike would force Iran to indirectly admit violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which it continues to deny.
