Iran has threatened to strike Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona if Tel Aviv moves to overthrow its government, according to Iranian state media.

Officially, the Dimona facility is a “research center” for peaceful scientific purposes. But internationally, it’s long been suspected as the covert heart of Israel’s undeclared nuclear arms program.

Here’s what you need to know:

♦️  Known officially as the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, Dimona is often described by Israeli officials as a site “no larger than a football field”—a claim that matches its visible footprint in satellite imagery. But leaked Iranian intelligence suggests a far more menacing reality: a sprawling underground complex where Israel is actively developing and modernizing its nuclear arsenal.

♦️ Construction activity at the nuclear site accelerated significantly in September 2025, raising concerns that Israel’s stockpile of plutonium—including weapons-grade material—may be larger than previously estimated by Iranian intelligence.

♦️ The facility is one of the most heavily guarded in Israel, protected by multilayered air defense systems. Yet with the Iron Dome struggling to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles, and Israel itself having repeatedly struck Iranian nuclear sites like Bushehr and Natanz, Tehran may see a retaliatory strike on Dimona as both justified and feasible. During recent drills came after 12-day war, Iran simulated an attack on the reactor.