Israel has struck an Iranian nuclear weapon site as the regime continues to step up its attacks across the Middle East.
The Taleghan compound, based near Tehran, was hit in a series of strikes by the Israeli Air Force to prevent its nuclear weapon development capacity.
‘The Israeli Air Force, acting on precise IDF intelligence, struck an additional Iranian nuclear programme site,’ the military said, claiming the ‘Taleghan compound was utilised by the regime to advance critical capabilities for developing nuclear weapons‘.
The Taleghan compound refers to a facility in Parchin, southeast of Tehran, where the the Islamic Republic conducts covert military activities.
The IDF also struck the site in October 2024 and accused Iran of taking ‘steps to rehabilitate the compound’ since.
‘The Iranian regime has continued efforts to advance and develop capabilities required for the development of a nuclear weapon,’ the IDF said, the recent strike is part of a ‘series of operations’ aimed at ‘further damaging the Iranian terror regime’s nuclear aspirations.’
Satellite images show the impact of strikes on the base amid suggestions the facility was hit with 30,000lb bunker buster bombs.
Three enormous holes are visible in the concrete shell protecting the site.
The Taleghan compound, based near Tehran, was hit in a series of strikes by the Israeli Air Force to prevent its nuclear weapon development capacity
Three enormous holes are visible in the concrete shell protecting the site following an attack
The Taleghan compound has also been covered in soil in recent months for protection, prompting suggestions Israel would need to use bunker busters to inflict damage.
Giant 30,000lb GBU-57 bombs – known as Massive Ordnance Penetrators or ‘MOPs’, are the largest non-nuclear weapons available to the US, although Israel does not possess them.
They were used in combat for the first time by the US during last year’s Twelve-Day War when 14 of the 20ft-long weapons were dropped to devastate Iran’s underground nuclear sites at Fordow and Natanz.
The damage inflicted on Taleghan appears similar to the impact at Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites last year.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued to strike Tehran, launching an ‘extensive’ wave of airstrikes on regime targets in the Iranian capital overnight.
The IDF said it targeted the command centers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps air force, a compound at Imam Hossein University, the IRGC’s military academy and other weapon storage sites.
It also hit Iran’s internal security forces, the Basij paramilitary force, and a headquarters of Iran’s intelligence ministry.
Iran said the strikes killed ‘several members of the security force and the Basij force stationed at checkpoints’.
It has retaliated by sending missiles and drones at US allies in the Middle East.
Iran has also forced shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route used to transport around 20 per cent of the world’s oil, sparking a potential world economic crisis as oil prices spike massively.
Israel has also ramped up its attacks on Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Israel pounded Lebanon overnight as it continues to target the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah
Iran has retaliated by sending missiles and drones at US allies in the Middle East. (Pictured a skyscraper damaged in Dubai on Thursday morning)
An Israeli strike on Beirut’s seafront killed eight people earlier this morning, authorities in Lebanon have said.
The Israeli military said separately it had carried out strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight against Hezbollah, which had announced a major new operation against Israel.
In a statement, the Lebanese health ministry said ‘the Israeli enemy strike on Ramlet al-Bayda’ in the centre of Beirut killed eight people and wounded 31.
The seaside attack was the third in the heart of the capital since the Middle East war began.
Displaced people have been sleeping rough or in tents on the streets of Beirut, including in the seaside area of Ramlet al-Bayda, where some shelters were hit by shrapnel from Thursday’s strike, according to reports.
Israel has also repeatedly hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, where the Israeli military said on Thursday it had struck 10 Hezbollah targets.
It came as Hezbollah blasted 200 rockets and multiple drones at northern Israel for hours on Wednesday evening.