Israel targets 'Taleghan' nuclear facility in Iran, claims strike on weapons development site

Israel strikes alleged Iranian nuclear weapons site

Israel’s military said Thursday it had carried out a strike on a site in Iran that it claims is linked to the Islamic republic’s nuclear weapons development programme.

“The Israeli Air Force, acting on precise IDF intelligence, struck an additional Iranian nuclear programme site,” the military said, adding that the “Taleghan compound was utilised by the regime to advance critical capabilities for developing nuclear weapons”.

The Taleghan compound is believed to refer to a facility in Parchin, southeast of Tehran, where the US-based think tank Institute for Science and International Security has previously said Iran conducts covert military-related nuclear activities.

“The IDF has recently identified that the regime has taken steps to rehabilitate the compound after it was struck in October 2024,” the military said.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military also announced it had targeted an underground nuclear facility in Iran where it claimed scientists were “covertly” developing a key component for nuclear weapons.

“IDF intelligence continued to follow the scientists' activities and located their new location at this site in a manner that enabled a precise strike,” the military said at the time, while presenting a map showing the facility on the eastern outskirts of Tehran.

Israel and Western powers have long accused Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched a joint attack on Iran to eliminate what Israel described as “the existential threat” posed by the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Israeli officials say Iran intensified its pursuit of an atomic weapon after the end of the 12-day war in June, which began with Israeli strikes and included US bombings of three nuclear facilities, including an enrichment plant.

(With AFP inputs)