Potential Strikes On Iran's Reactor and Nuclear Complexes

 Update: Iran Alleges Strikes on Natanz Enrichment Facility

Amid ongoing military operations that have targeted Iran’s Arak heavy-water reactor site, Tehran claims the United States and Israel also struck its key Natanz uranium enrichment complex on Sunday, March 1.

According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami informed IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in a letter that “the criminal regimes of the United States and Israel… again targeted the Natanz nuclear site on Sunday afternoon.”

The Institute for Science and International Security claims they have verified the strikes.

The buildings visibly destroyed in the low resolution imagery taken by Copernicus on March 2, 2026 ( published by @BenTzionMacales ) at Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant are the personnel entrances and a dummy building covering the only vehicle entrance to the underground site. Iran… pic.twitter.com/FZOb98riIu

— Inst for Science (@TheGoodISIS) March 2, 2026

Iran’s IAEA ambassador Reza Najafi repeated the accusation to reporters during Monday’s emergency Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, calling the facilities “peaceful” and “safeguarded.”

However, Grossi told the same session that the agency has “no indication that any of the nuclear installations have been damaged or hit.” He added that IAEA monitoring, including satellite imagery, has revealed nothing comparable to the major damage at Natanz during the June 2025 strikes, though contact with Iranian authorities remains limited.

The Iranian claims have not been independently verified. Israel and the United States have not commented on any specific strike at Natanz. The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization reiterated the claim from earlier this morning that the US has bombed the Natanz nuclear facility again.

*  *  *

Foreign media sources are circulating claims US/Israeli forces struck Iran’s Arak heavy-water reactor complex. If confirmed, this would mark the second major hit on the facility in less than a year, underscoring Jerusalem and Washington’s determination to eliminate every pathway to an Iranian nuclear weapon.

🚨🇮🇷 BREAKING:

The nuclear reactor in Arak, Iran, has been bombed, according to a foreign report.

yediot news https://t.co/Aaijy0nzYs pic.twitter.com/qoTkCcZhPX

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 2, 2026

The Arak site, located about 250 km southwest of Tehran in Markazi Province, houses the unfinished IR-40/Khondab 40-megawatt thermal heavy-water research reactor and an adjacent Heavy Water Production Plant (HWPP). Originally designed in the early 2000s to potentially produce weapons-grade plutonium, the reactor was partially redesigned under the 2015 JCPOA to limit plutonium output for civilian isotope production. The reactor core was filled with cement and remained non-operational and defueled.

During last year’s escalation, Israel conducted a precision strike on the site. Satellite imagery showed the reactor’s containment dome breached and the core likely destroyed to prevent any future plutonium pathway. The adjacent HWPP suffered damage to distillation towers, though the full extent of production capability loss remains unclear. The IAEA confirmed no radiological release occurred, as the site contained no nuclear fuel or fissile material.

The IAEA has repeatedly stated that strikes here pose negligible off-site contamination risks, unlike potential meltdowns at operational power reactors (Bushehr) or chemical hazards at enrichment halls. Monitoring stations in neighboring countries have reported no radiation spikes following recent operations.

Strategically, neutralizing Arak closes Tehran’s plutonium option, complementing earlier damage to Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan enrichment facilities. It signals that no element of Iran’s nuclear program is off-limits, potentially setting back breakout timelines by years and weakening the regime’s deterrence posture

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/potential-strike-irans-arak-reactor-complex

Swiss president talks with Middle East leaders

 Swiss President Guy Parmelin shared in a social media post on Monday that he spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, about the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

"I expressed Switzerland's solidarity and support, and discussed the urgent need to prevent further regional destabilisation. All parties must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, de-escalate immediately and return to diplomacy," he said.

Since the 1980s, Switzerland has been representing the United States' interests in Iran under the protecting power mandate, acting as a messenger between the two.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Swiss-president-talks-with-Middle-East-leaders/65778666

Israel: Iran's leadership 'lashing out in desperation'

 Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon (pictured) said on Monday that the Iranian political echelon is currently "lashing out in desperation" amid ongoing military conflict with the United States and Israel.

Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, Danon stressed that the military operation will "last as long as it takes," and stressed that Israel will "not stop until we achieve our objectives."

"Look at what they are doing now without a nuclear weapon, threatening the entire region ... Now imagine that same regime with a nuclear capability," the official noted, and added that this is precisely why the operation was "necessary."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Israel:-Iran's-leadership-'lashing-out-in-desperation'/65778844

Israeli army targets IRGC facilities, weapon sites

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed on Monday that its forces targeted facilities and regional command centers of "the Iranian terrorist regime's internal security bodies" during the latest wave of airstrikes on Tehran.

"The IDF struck over ten headquarters belonging to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence - the regime's main intelligence body - as well as numerous Quds Force headquarters," the military said on Telegram.

Moreover, the IDF added that its forces also hit "surface-to-surface missile launchers, sites used for the production of weapons for Iranian forces, and other IRGC [Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps] Air Force sites."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Israeli-army-targets-IRGC-facilities-weapon-sites/65778905

Iran said to have targeted tanker in Strait of Hormuz

 Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck a fuel tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the military group reportedly said in a statement shared by several outlets, including Al-Jazeera.

The IRGC was said to have claimed it targeted the Athe Nova tanker, with two drones, and set it on fire. The group speculated that the vessel, which was registered in Honduras, was "one of the American allies in the Strait of Hormuz."

The news came amid reports that Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz or is planning to do so due to the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel. Tehran's chief diplomat Abbas Araghchi denied such allegations. However, Fitch Ratings predicted that the strait will remain closed during the crisis.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iran-said-to-have-targeted-tanker-in-Strait-of-Hormuz/65778743

'Energy Analyst Says Iran's Navy Too Weak To Completely Choke Hormuz'

 FGE NexantECA Chairman Emeritus Fereidun Fesharaki told Bloomberg TV on Monday morning that any attempt by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to choke off the critical Strait of Hormuz using warships, drones, and missiles would likely be short-lived, as the regime's naval capability is too weak to sustain a blockade against U.S., British, and French naval forces.

"It's just a fear factor," Fesharaki said earlier on Bloomberg TV, following his prediction one week earlier on Bloomberg TV: "I don't think the U.S. has a choice but to go to war. It is very hard for me to see a scenario in which they would simply avoid this, turn the ships around, and go home." Fesharaki has tracked the market for decades.

Fesharaki said this morning, "The Revolutionary Guard navy is a minor force compared with what the American navy, the British, and the French can bring in."

Fesharaki's comments about the duration of the war mirrored President Trump's remarks to The Daily Mail on Sunday, in which he said Operation Epic Fury would last about four weeks. He also described the IRGC as a "paper tiger."

On Sunday, Trump announced that nine Iranian naval ships had been sunk in the operation.

"I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk nine Iranian naval ships, some of them relatively large and important," Trump wrote in a post on X, adding that Iran's naval headquarters has been "largely destroyed" in a different attack.

"We are going after the rest — they will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also!" Trump wrote.

Rapidan Energy Group analyst Fernando Ferreira provided more insight on the Strait:

Iran understands that threatening traffic through Hormuz is its most credible asymmetric lever. Even limited interference can raise oil prices and impose immediate economic costs on the U.S. and its partners, increasing pressure on Washington to de-escalate.

We expect at least moderate disruptions to Gulf oil flows in the coming days, with the risk tilted toward something more severe if tensions escalate further.

As of Monday morning, Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data via Bloomberg shows that tanker activity in the critical maritime energy chokepoint has mostly frozen, with limited transits.

Related:

• "Expect Moderate Disruptions": Oil Tankers Avoid Strait Of Hormuz As Operation Fury Hits Iran

• Three Maritime Incidents Reported In Strait Of Hormuz Energy Chokepoint

Goldman analyst Adam Crook told clients over the weekend that any prolonged disruption of the Strait could push Brent crude prices toward $100/bbl. Currently, Brent crude futures trade around $79 as of 0900 ET.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/top-energy-analyst-says-irans-navy-too-weak-completely-choke-hormuz

US Government Seizes Over $580 Million In Crypto Linked To Southeast Asian Scams

 by Micah Zimmerman via Bitcoin Magazine,

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said federal authorities have frozen and seized more than $580 million in cryptocurrency tied to Southeast Asian scam networks, marking a major escalation in the government’s campaign against cross-border crypto fraud.

The funds were restrained through the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, a task force formed in November to target cryptocurrency investment and confidence schemes linked to Chinese transnational criminal organizations. 

Officials said the groups use social media platforms and text messaging to target U.S. victims and siphon billions of dollars each year. Recent estimates place annual losses to Americans near $10 billion.

“In only three months, we have made significant progress, freezing, seizing, and forfeiting cryptocurrency worth more than $578 million from these criminals,” Pirro said in a statement. She said her office will seek forfeiture through the courts and aims to return funds to victims.

Authorities describe the schemes as “pig butchering” operations, in which fraudsters build relationships with victims before steering them into fraudulent crypto investments. Victims are persuaded to purchase legitimate digital assets and then transfer them to counterfeit trading platforms controlled by the scam networks.

The operations often run out of secured compounds in parts of Southeast Asia, including Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. U.S. officials said some workers inside the compounds are trafficking victims who are forced to carry out scams under threat of violence. In certain areas, revenue generated from scam activity accounts for a large share of local economic output.

The Strike Force is focused on identifying senior figures within the criminal networks, including organizers and money launderers who move proceeds through blockchain transactions and shell accounts. Investigators are tracing funds across exchanges and wallets to disrupt cash-out points and freeze assets before they are dispersed.

The initiative brings together the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and several Justice Department divisions, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit. U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Rhode Island and the Western District of Washington are also participating.

The Justice Department said the Strike Force will continue targeting infrastructure, financial channels, and leadership structures tied to the fraud networks.

Crypto crime hit $154 Billion last year

Data from Chainalysis shows illicit crypto addresses received at least $154 billion in 2025, a 162% year-over-year increase, with sanctioned entities driving much of the surge. Nation-states including Russia, Iran, and North Korea played an outsized role, leveraging blockchain infrastructure for sanctions evasion, money laundering, and large-scale thefts.

Stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit transaction volume, the report said. 

The report also highlights the expansion of Chinese money laundering networks offering “laundering-as-a-service” and other full-stack illicit infrastructure. Although illicit activity still represents less than 1% of total crypto volume, the scale and geopolitical dimension of the activity pose rising risks for regulators, law enforcement, and national security.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-government-seizes-over-580-million-crypto-linked-southeast-asian-scams