Israel strikes at the heart of Iran's nuclear ambitions in Isfahan offensive

Israel struck Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility, dismantling uranium conversion infrastructure as part of a wider campaign that targeted over 200 sites and eliminated nine scientists.

People gather on a hill to watch smoke rising in the distance from an Israeli airstrike in Tehran, Iran, on June 14, 2025. Iran's foreign minister said the country would respond "decisively and proportionally" to a wave of attacks that Israel launched beginning in the early hours of June 13. The attacks targeted multiple military, scientific and residential locations, as well as senior government officials.  (Photo by Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The IAEA has confirmed that a nuclear facility in Isfahan was struck by Israel. In a statement on X the IAEA posted that four critical buildings "were damaged in yesterday’s attack, including the Uranium Conversion Facility and the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant. As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected."

"Isfahan’s uranium conversion facility is at the heart of Iran’s quest for domestic fuel cycle mastery," Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital. 

At Isfahan, uranium is converted into a state suited for gaseous enrichment. 

"Crippling this capacity at Isfahan would disconnect the dots between Iran’s diverse nuclear industry and potentially handicap future efforts to prepare uranium for enrichment." 

Technicians work inside of a uranium conversion facility producing unit March 30, 2005, just outside the city of Isfahan, about 254 miles (410 kilometers), south of the capital, Tehran, Iran. The cities of Isfahan and Natanz in central Iran are home to the heart of Iran's nuclear program. The facility in Isfahan makes hexaflouride gas, which is then enriched by feeding it into centrifuges at a facility in Natanz, Iran. Iran's President Mohammad Khatami and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Gholamreza Aghazadeh visited the facilities.  (Getty Images)

Iranian media reported on Saturday that Israel had struck near the northwestern Tabriz refinery, reporting three missile strikes in locations near western Iran. 

The Israeli military said that initial strikes had taken out nine nuclear scientists, in addition to top generals in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and dozens of others. 

Iran’s counter-strikes have killed three Israelis. 

Experts have long warned that Iran is weeks away from enriching uranium to a weapons-grade 90%, and Israeli intelligence sources suggest Iran had moved beyond enrichment into the early production phase of a nuclear weapon.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

The IAEA has warned of Iran’s "rapid accumulation of highly enriched uranium" and said the regime has been opaque about providing details on its use. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/israel-strikes-site-heart-irans-nuclear-ambitions-isfahan-offensive