The Heavy Water Research Facility in Hendijan, targeted in airstrikes amid the Iran War [Wikipedia Capture]

As Israel intensifies airstrikes on Iranian territory, nuclear facilities have been repeatedly targeted.

According to Fars News Agency on the 27th (local time), a heavy water research reactor facility located in central Iran was hit by airstrikes on this day.

The Deputy Governor for Political and Security Affairs of Markazi Province, located in central Iran, stated, "The American and Zionist (Israeli) enemies targeted the Hendijan heavy water facility in two phases."

Authorities added that there were no casualties from this attack and that there were no threats to local residents, such as radiation leaks, due to pre-arranged safety measures.

The Hendijan heavy water facility, targeted in airstrikes today, is located within the Arak nuclear facility complex in Markazi Province.

The experimental atomic reactor at this facility was shut down in accordance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) and was rendered inoperable by the injection of concrete into its core.

In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iranian authorities pushed for its restart, but it was reportedly rendered inoperable again due to Israeli airstrikes during the '12-day war' in June last year. The facility also houses facilities for producing heavy water, which is necessary for the operation of heavy water reactors.

Heavy water reactors, which use natural uranium as fuel instead of enriched uranium, can produce plutonium, a key ingredient for nuclear weapons, even for experimental purposes.

Furthermore, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced today via its official Telegram channel that a uranium processing facility in the central region was also attacked.

The Atomic Energy Organization stated, "A few minutes ago, the uranium concentrate (yellowcake) production plant in Ardakan, Yazd Province, was attacked by a joint force of the United States and Israel."

However, the Atomic Energy Organization added that there were no radioactive material leaks from this attack.

This series of attacks on the heavy water facility and uranium processing plant appears to be aimed at directly damaging Iran's nuclear capabilities.

The Israeli military confirmed the airstrike on the Hendijan heavy water reactor, stating, "We detected repeated attempts by the Iranian terror regime to rebuild at the site and struck the facility once again."

The Israeli military also claimed, "Despite explicit international commitments, including the nuclear deal, the Iranian regime has systematically evaded work to modify the reactor to prevent the production of weapons-grade plutonium, and has even deliberately issued instructions not to complete the modification work."

The Israeli military also confirmed the bombing of the uranium concentrate production plant, designating it as a "uranium extraction facility" and emphasizing it as "a very important process in the nuclear weapons program."

The attacks on the nuclear facilities occurred immediately after Israel warned it would escalate and broaden its response to Iran's missile attacks.

Earlier, Fars News Agency reported that the Khuzestan Steel Company in southwestern Iran and the Mobarakeh Steel Company in Isfahan in central Iran were attacked.

Iran strongly condemned the attacks and vowed severe retaliation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on X (formerly Twitter), "This attack directly contradicts the extension of the deadline for a diplomatic solution that the President of the United States (POTUS) had pledged," and "Iran will certainly exact a harsh price for these crimes."

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran also issued a statement saying, "Despite warnings to refrain from attacking, the United States and Israel have attacked Iran's industrial centers multiple times," and "Employees of industrial companies linked to U.S. interests in the Middle East or the Zionist regime (Israel), and associated heavy industry enterprises, should immediately leave their workplaces to protect their lives," foreshadowing retaliatory attacks.