Iran will target the Israeli nuclear site of Dimona if Israel and the US seek regime change in the Islamic Republic, semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday, citing an Iranian military official.

The Iranian threat came five days into an intense joint US-Israel air campaign against Iran. Both have said the aim is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb and to destroy the Islamic Republic’s long-range ballistic missile program. Israel has also actively encouraged Iranians to overthrow their regime, while the US has indicated it would welcome such a change.

The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, near the city of Dimona, is believed to be key to Israel’s long-suspected atomic weapons program. Israel does not confirm or deny having nuclear weapons.

The site, located in the Negev southern region of the country, is among the most protected locations in the country, with measures believed to include the full range of Israel’s air defense systems.

In response to the campaign, Iran has fired missiles at regional countries hosting US bases and at Israel, where the attacks have killed 10 people. Three missile attacks overnight Wednesday sent millions of Israelis scrambling to bomb shelters but caused no injuries.

The UN nuclear watchdog IAEA says that facilities housing nuclear material in Iran have suffered no damage in the recent fighting and there is no risk of a radiation leak.

Meanwhile, the US is working on plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the war with Iran, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.

Leavitt said during a press briefing that Operation Epic Fury — the US moniker for the campaign —  will ensure that “Iran will no longer be able to restrict the free flow of energy through a waterway that controls roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply.”

“As the Department of War said this morning, we expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours,” Leavitt said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier that the US and Israel would have total control of Iranian skies within the week.

Leavitt added that the US has destroyed more than 20 Iranian ships, doubling the number from two days ago.

Asked about reports that the US is considering arming Kurdish fighters against Iran, Leavitt denied that this is the case, saying that US President Donald Trump only spoke to Kurdish leaders recently about the American military base in northern Iraq. Media reports have said that the US is in talks with Iranian Kurds to fight against Iran’s security forces to enable a popular uprising against the regime that, in January, brutally suppressed anti-regime protests, killing thousands.

While Leavitt didn’t rule out the potential for US ground troops in Iran eventually, she said they are not part of the plan for the operation “at this time.”

But Trump is discussing with his advisers what role the US could have in Iran after the military campaign while US intelligence is monitoring reports that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s slain supreme leader, has emerged as ‌a frontrunner to succeed him, she said.

“We’ve seen those reports as well, of course, and this is something that our intelligence agencies are looking at. The truth is, we’ll have to wait and see,” Leavitt told reporters.

Leavitt added that Trump was actively considering and discussing with his national security team what role Washington may have in Iran’s future once the operation is over, but the primary focus at the moment was the success of the military operation.

Leavitt also defended the US goals of the joint Israeli-US air war against Iran amid criticism that Washington has failed to provide evidence for the imminent threat that Tehran posed directly to the United States, while adding that Trump believed that the American people supported the war.

“This decision to launch this operation is based on a cumulative effect of various direct threats that Iran posed to the United States of America,” Leavitt said.

“Again, this is a rogue terrorist regime that has been threatening the United States, our allies, and our people for 47 years, and the American people are smart enough to know that,” Leavitt said.

Trump has rejected suggestions that Israel pushed the US into the conflict, as his administration gave varying accounts and faced criticism from some supporters and Democrats who accused him of launching a “war of choice.”

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this week showed that only one in four Americans approves of ​US strikes on Iran that have plunged the Middle East into chaos, while about half — including one in four Republicans — believe Trump ‌is too willing to use military force.

Leavitt also announced that Spain has agreed to cooperate with the US military after Trump tore into Madrid on Tuesday for not letting the Americans use its bases to stage attacks on Iran. But Spanish officials quickly denied that the country has changed its position regarding the war and reiterated that its bases will not be used as part of it.

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1 ‘Quiet Death’: US sub fires torpedo to sink Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, in first since WWII

2 In world 1st, Israeli F-35 shoots down Iranian jet in air-to-air combat over Tehran

3 US in talks with Iranian Kurds on potential CIA-backed op for uprising – sources

4 IDF carries out ‘extensive’ strikes on regime targets; Iran fires missiles at Israeli towns

5 Op-edOf course this is Israel’s war in Iran. It’s America’s, too. We’d all better win it

6 Iranian missile downed as it heads towards NATO member Turkey

7 Shah’s widow warns Khamenei’s death alone won’t topple Islamic Republic

8 US, Israel targeting Iran forces involved in crackdown to enable renewed protests — officials

2026 US-Israel war with Iran

Dimona nuclear reactor

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