Iran says nuclear facilities targeted

Two Iranian nuclear facilities were attacked on Friday, according to state media, hours after Israel pledged to “escalate and expand” its military campaign and President Trump claimed progress in ceasefire negotiations.

The Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that attacks targeted the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd and the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak.

Tehran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the attacks did not result in any casualties or the release of radioactive materials, and there was no risk of contamination to the public, the news agency added.

Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium that is produced after impurities are removed from the raw ore, and heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors, according to The Associated Press.

The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the targeted attacks on Friday, saying it had struck both the heavy water plant in Arak and Iran’s primary facility for missile and sea mine production in Yazd.

“The IDF will not allow the Iranian regime to continue advancing its nuclear weapons program, which poses an existential threat to Israel and the entire world,” the Israeli military posted to social platform X.

The IRGC said its forces would retaliate against U.S. and Israeli interests in the region, warning employees of American and Israeli industrial companies to evacuate, per Fars.

“You tested us once before; the world saw again that you yourselves started playing with fire and attacking infrastructure. This time, the equation will no longer be an eye for an eye; wait and see!” Seyed Majid Moosavi, IRGC’s Aerospace Force commander, wrote on X.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this month that combined forces have struck more than 15,000 targets inside Iran since the joint operation began on Feb. 28, “decimating” Iran’s military capabilities.

Israeli strikes have taken out several of Iran’s top military and political leaders, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and Gholam Reza Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force.

The conflict has shown few signs of de-escalation, as Iran continues to use its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in the war. The halt in traffic through the strait, which carries about 20 percent of the world’s daily oil supply, has rattled global markets and repeatedly pushed fuel prices to more than $100 per barrel.

Trump on Thursday extended a pause in U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure until April 6, citing productive negotiations with Iranian officials. The Iranian regime, however, has denied its involvement in talks with the Trump administration.

Tehran officials have also recently rejected a 15-point ceasefire proposal from the U.S. that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, instead issuing their own set of demands for bringing the conflict to an end.