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Since the outbreak of direct hostilities between Israel and Iran on June 13, 2025, Israeli strikes have occurred at major nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, Parchin, Bonab, Tehran, and Arak. In addition, at least eleven or more leading Iranian nuclear scientists have reportedly been assassinated. This spotlight report assesses the IDF’s target set, the scope of the damage, and the initial implications for Iran’s nuclear program.

Nuclear Sites That Have Been Struck

Core Assets in the Uranium Enrichment Sector:

• Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center—Located in Isfahan, the site houses Iran’s uranium conversion facility (UCF), where “yellowcake” (U₃O₈) is converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF₆)—the raw material required for the enrichment process. The facility also contains workshops for the production of metallic uranium and for nuclear fuel fabrication. It serves as a necessary preliminary stage for uranium enrichment process, the production of nuclear reactor fuel, and the extraction of metallic uranium, which can be used as fissile material in a nuclear device. Four structures were damaged at the site: the central chemical laboratory, the uranium conversion facility, the fuel production plant for the Tehran reactor, and a facility for processing UF₄ (uranium tetrafluoride) into enriched uranium metal (EU), which was still under construction.
• Natanz Enrichment Facility (FEP)—Natanz is Iran’s primary enrichment site, where thousands of centrifuges operate to enrich UF₆ gas to various levels—including up to 60%. This is a critical stage in the enrichment process, enabling the production of fissile material required for the development of nuclear weapons. The facility’s surface enrichment buildings and power station were destroyed; as a result, all 15,000 operational centrifuges were either severely damaged or completely destroyed, leading to a shutdown of the underground facilities. The status of the enriched material stockpile remains unknown.

• Karaj Site—Two facilities for the manufacturing centrifuge components and pipes were destroyed on June 18, 2025.
• Tehran Nuclear Research Center—A building producing and testing rotors for use in advanced centrifuges was struck on June 18, 2025.

Knowledge Infrastructure for Nuclear Weapons Development

• Parchin and the headquarters of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) in Tehran—both of which are linked to integration experiments, such as the comprehensive design of a nuclear warhead—were damaged. This indicates that the Israeli strikes aim not only to delay the accumulation of fissile material but are also targeting Iran’s practical capabilities and scientific knowledge required for assembling a nuclear weapon.
• Additionally, at least 11 scientists and professionals associated with Iran’s nuclear-program have been killed. Their areas of expertise included nuclear engineering, theoretical and particle physics, chemistry, materials engineering, and centrifuge design. They were affiliated with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Shahid Beheshti University, the Islamic Azad University, and various research and production institutions directly linked to Iran’s nuclear and weapons programs.

IR-40 Heavy-Water Research Reactor at Arak

• The heavy water reactor was originally constructed for producing weapons-grade plutonium (for use in nuclear weapons). Under the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran committed to repurpose the reactor for civilian use, but it appears to have only partially fulfilled those commitments. The strike on June 19, 2025, targeted any future reactivation of the reactor for military use.

Secondary Research Sites

• The reported attack on the Bonab Research Center suggests an intent to prevent the dispersion of unique technological knowledge and supporting equipment. Additionally, according to unofficial sources, the backup material from Iran’s nuclear archive—which had been brought to Israel by the Mossad—was also damaged in the airstrikes.

Key Nuclear Sites That Have Not Yet Been Struck

Fordow Enrichment Plant

An underground facility designated for uranium enrichment, Fordow houses advanced centrifuges protected by layers of rock and concrete dozens of meters below ground. Due to its deep location within a mountain, direct strikes on the underground halls would require next generation bunker-penetrating munitions—a capability not fully available to Israel, making effective targeting of the site a significant operational challenge.

Operational or Manned Reactors

• The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the Tehran Research Reactor were not attacked. Striking either could lead to radioactive fallout and international condemnation. In the case of Bushehr, there is an added risk of conflict with Russian interests, given the presence of Russian personnel at the facility. These are civilian research reactors with no military purpose.

Primary Raw Material Infrastructure

• Iran’s uranium mines (Saghand, Gchine) and the yellowcake production facility in Ardakan were not targeted. While they are important for long-term stockpiling, they do not directly affect Iran’s timeline for short-term nuclear breakout. Striking these mines would cause significant environmental damage, with limited strategic gain.

Initial Implications

• Significant Delay, Not Total Destruction—The strikes severely damaged most of Iran’s fissile material production infrastructure. Iran’s uranium enrichment capability has been heavily compromised (with the exception of the Fordow site). Minimal recovery is expected to take many months. In the weapons group domain, critical knowledge infrastructure was also damaged due to the targeted killings of the scientists, in addition to the physical infrastructure.
• Dispersal, Structural Reinforcement, and Secondary Systems Construction—The regime will likely relocate additional workshops to underground facilities and increase energy production at secondary sites. Critical development teams may be dispersed to multiple locations.
• Escalation Management—Avoiding strikes on active reactors allows Israel to maintain a narrative of precision targeting and helps reduces the risk of immediate involvement of global powers.
• IAEA Inspection Challenges: Continued attacks are likely to disrupt the ability of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to maintain inspections at Iran’s nuclear sites. Iran may also attempt to relocate residual capabilities to covert sites beyond the IAEA’s supervision.

Looking Ahead

The strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites reflect a calculated strategy of causing severe damage to critical nodes along the enrichment chain (such as the production of fissile material) and to the knowledge infrastructure behind the nuclear weapons development—while avoiding wide-scale environmental fallout and carefully calibrating geopolitical and ecological risks. The degree to which these actions can derail Iran’s nuclear program depends on the regime’s capacity to recover and to carry out additional strikes. Ongoing monitoring of reconstruction efforts at damaged sites will be critical to evaluate the long-term impact of these operations.

Watch the real-time updated map of attacks: