Israel's strike on Iran last month destroyed an active nuclear weapons and research facility in Parchin, Axios reported, quoting three US officials, one current Israeli official, and one former Israeli official.
The site was previously reported to be inactive, Axios added. However, it is now clear that the strike "significantly damaged" Iran's efforts to resume nuclear weapons research.
Iran has consistently denied that it is working to achieve a nuclear weapon, and its mission to the United Nations declined to comment on the story.
A former Israeli official briefed on the strike said Israel "destroyed sophisticated equipment used to design the plastic explosives that surround uranium in a nuclear device and are needed to detonate it."
According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the Parchin facility was part of the Iranian nuclear weapons program and used for testing explosives until Iran allegedly halted its military nuclear program in 2003.
According to US and Israeli officials, the Taleghan 2 building was being used for nuclear research that could also be presented as important for civilian purposes.
However, since the building was not part of Iran's declared nuclear program, Israel could strike it without violating the US dictate not to strike Iranian nuclear or military facilities.
A US official explained, "They conducted scientific activity that could lay the ground for the production of a nuclear weapon. It was a top-secret thing. A small part of the Iranian government knew about this, but most of the Iranian government didn't."
A US official told Axios that in the months prior to the Israeli strike, "there was concern across the board" about operations at Taleghan 2.
High-resolution satellite images acquired by the Institute show that the site's Taleghan 2 building was completely destroyed, the site noted.
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