Israel used depleted uranium bombs in Iran strikes: Report

A well-informed source revealed to Fars News Agency on 26 June that Israel may have used depleted uranium (DU) munitions in its recent airstrikes targeting sensitive sites across Iran.

Initial tests conducted at the impact zones reportedly detected traces suggestive of uranium, although further technical analysis is still underway to confirm the findings.

Depleted uranium, a dense metal used in bombs and tank shells to penetrate armored targets, is not classified as nuclear weaponry, but it poses serious long-term health risks due to its low-level radioactivity and toxic chemical composition.

International health organizations have warned that DU exposure may be linked to increased rates of leukemia, kidney damage, and anemia – especially in children living in contaminated areas.

The US military’s use of DU weapons has been linked to massive increases in cancer rates in Iraq following the US wars on that country in 1991 and 2003.

Military experts are currently examining debris and munitions remnants from bombs dropped by Israel in Iran during the recent 12-day war.  More detailed findings will be released once final lab results are available, the source stated, cautioning against premature conclusions.

This would not be the first time Israel has been accused of using prohibited weapons. Human rights groups have previously condemned the Israeli military for its use of white phosphorus and suspected DU-based weapons in past operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, raising international concern over repeated violations of international humanitarian law.

On 6 October, the president of the Lebanese Association of Social Medicine stated that Israel had been bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut using banned bombs with uranium warheads.

President of the association, Raif Reda, called for “collecting samples from the bombing sites and sending reports to the United Nations so the world can witness the bloody, criminal history of the Zionist enemy,” according to statements reported by the National News Agency (NNA).

Following Israel’s massive bombing campaign against Lebanon, the Syndicate of Chemists in Lebanon (SCL) warned that “the use of such types of internationally banned weapons, especially in densely populated Beirut, leads to massive destruction, and their dust causes many diseases, especially when inhaled.”

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