Israel’s military warns people to evacuate the area around Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor

DUBAI United Arab Emirates AP Israel s military warned people Thursday to evacuate the area around Iran s Arak heavy water reactor The warning came in a social media post on X It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle like other warnings that preceded strikes Israel s seventh day of airstrikes on Iran came a day after Iran s supreme leader rejected U S calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause irreparable damage to them Israel also lifted particular restrictions on daily life suggesting the missile threat from Iran on its territory was easing The Israeli military stated Thursday s round of airstrikes targeted Tehran and other areas of Iran without elaborating Already Israel s campaign has targeted Iran s enrichment site at Natanz centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan Its strikes have also killed top generals and nuclear scientists A Washington-based Iranian human rights group explained at least people including civilians have been killed in Iran and more than wounded In retaliation Iran has fired specific missiles and hundreds of drones killing at least people in Israel and wounding hundreds Particular have hit apartment buildings in central Israel causing heavy damage The Arak heavy water reactor is kilometers miles southwest of Tehran Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium should it choose to pursue the weapon Iran had agreed under its nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns In Iran started up the heavy water reactor s secondary circuit which at the time did not violate Tehran s nuclear deal with world powers Britain at the time was helping Iran redesign the Arak reactor to limit the amount of plutonium it produces stepping in for the U S which had withdrawn from the project after President Donald Trump s decision in to unilaterally withdraw America from the nuclear deal The International Atomic Vigor Agency the United Nations nuclear watchdog has been urging Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites IAEA inspectors reportedly last visited Arak on May Due to restrictions Iran imposed on inspectors the IAEA has declared it lost continuity of knowledge about Iran s heavy water production meaning it could not absolutely verify Tehran s production and stockpile As part of negotiations around the deal Iran agreed to sell off its heavy water to the West to remain in compliance with the accord s terms Even the U S purchased specific tons of heavy water for over million in one deal That was one issue that drew criticism from opponents to the deal