Israel’s secret nuclear expansion: New satellite images reveal construction at Dimona
By isabelle // 2025-09-05
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  • Satellite images expose massive new construction at Israel’s Dimona nuclear site, suspected to be a plutonium reactor or weapons assembly facility.
  • Israel’s uninspected nuclear program operates outside international treaties, with estimates of 90-300 warheads already stockpiled.
  • The U.S. ignores Israel’s violations while hypocritically targeting Iran, which complies with IAEA inspections under the NPT.
  • Expansion at Dimona coincides with escalating regional tensions, including strikes on Iran and the Gaza war, raising fears of nuclear provocation.
  • Global silence on Israel’s nuclear secrecy contrasts sharply with aggressive scrutiny of other nations, exposing a dangerous double standard.
New satellite images analyzed by experts reveal major construction at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, a site long suspected of housing Israel’s clandestine nuclear weapons program. This is a potential game-changer in a region already teetering on the brink of all-out war. The construction, captured in images from Planet Labs PBC, shows a massive new structure with thick concrete walls, multiple underground levels, and cranes towering overhead. Experts are divided on its purpose, but the leading theories are deeply troubling. Three analysts suggest it is likely a new heavy water reactor  capable of producing plutonium, the key ingredient for nuclear warheads. Another four speculate it could be a facility for assembling nuclear weapons, a chilling prospect given Israel’s history of targeting civilians in conflicts like Gaza. What’s clear is that this isn’t about peaceful energy. Dimona has no civilian power plant, and Israel has never allowed international inspections. The secrecy alone should raise red flags. Israel’s nuclear program has operated in the shadows for decades. The country is one of only four nations—alongside India, Pakistan, and North Korea—that have never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), meaning the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no authority to inspect Dimona. The current reactor, built in the 1960s with French assistance, has been running far beyond its expected lifespan. Experts like Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies note that the new structure’s size and location make it “very hard to imagine it is anything else” but a reactor. Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, warned that if it is a heavy water reactor, Israel could be “seeking to maintain the capability to produce spent fuel that they then can process to separate plutonium for more nuclear weapons.”

The timing is extremely worrying

This expansion comes at a perilous time. Just months ago, Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, claiming without credible evidence that Tehran was pursuing a bomb. Yet Iran, unlike Israel, is a signatory to the NPT and allows IAEA inspections. The hypocrisy is staggering. While the West demonizes Iran’s civilian nuclear program, Israel quietly expands its unregulated, uninspected weapons program with zero accountability. And let’s not forget that Israel is believed to possess 90 to 300 nuclear warheads, though it refuses to confirm or deny their existence. The U.S. turns a blind eye, skirting the Symington Amendment, which prohibits aid to countries trafficking in nuclear enrichment outside international safeguards. Your tax dollars are funding this ambiguity. The timing is no coincidence. Israel’s recent military campaigns, from the devastation in Gaza to strikes in Syria, have shown a blatant disregard for civilian lives. Now, with tensions flaring between Israel, Iran, and Hezbollah, the construction at Dimona sends a dangerous message. What’s even more alarming is the lack of transparency. The Israeli government and the White House both refused to comment on the AP’s inquiries. The IAEA, powerless to act, merely stated that Israel “is not obligated to provide information about other nuclear facilities in the country.” This isn’t just a failure of diplomacy; it’s a deliberate evasion of global nuclear safeguards. And let’s be clear: if Iran or any other nation in the region were caught building a secret nuclear facility, the U.S. and its allies would be screaming for sanctions or worse. But because it’s Israel, the world stays silent. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com APNews.com JPost.com YnetNews.com
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