IDF confirms strike on yellowcake plant in Iran, ‘only one of its kind’ in country

The IDF confirms bombing a yellowcake production plant near the central Iranian city of Yazd, saying it came as part of the ongoing efforts against Iran’s nuclear program.

The military describes the site as a “uranium extraction facility.”

“This facility is the only one of its kind in Iran, where raw materials mined from the ground undergo mechanical and chemical processing so that they can later be used as precursor materials for uranium enrichment,” the military says, adding that it is a “highly important process for the nuclear weapons program advanced by the regime.”

The strikes hit the “central infrastructure used in the site’s unique production processes,” the military says.

Iranian media reported earlier that the Ardakan yellowcake production plant was hit in strikes.

Yellowcake is a uranium concentrate in powder form and an early step in uranium processing. It is produced by mining uranium ore from rocks and separating the uranium from the rocks by bathing them in acid. The yellowcake can then be converted, enriched to raise its purity, and then used for weapons or energy production.