A notorious Iranian prison and nuclear facility were reportedly targeted in Israeli airstrikes on Monday.
Iran’s Evin Prison, located in the capital city of Tehran, and the Fordo nuclear facility were bombed on Sunday, reported Iranian state media.
The prison is widely known for keeping political prisoners, such as high-profile European and American citizens, who Iran regularly uses in geopolitical bargaining sessions and prisoner exchanges, according to the Associated Press. Israel claimed responsibility for the attacks on Monday morning, through a statement released by its Defense Ministry.
The Fordo nuclear facility was one of the targets of the U.S. bombing campaign on Saturday, authorized by President Donald Trump. The president said each of Iran’s nuclear development sites targeted in the airstrikes were “obliterated.”
In addition to the prison and Fordo facility, Israel said it was launching strikes against several of Iran’s military locations, including those of the Revolutionary Guards, the Associated Press reported.
“The Iranian dictator will be punished with full force for attacking the Israeli home front,” Israel’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Evin Prison has been cited by the U.S. and the European Union as a reason for sanctions, with both claiming numerous human rights violations. In April 2025, the EU listed the “arbitrary detention of EU citizens and dual nationals” and a “dramatic increase in the number of executions,” specifically mentioning those of women and religious minorities, as examples of the many abuses in the prison just in the last year.
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“The EU’s action against Iran is long overdue and mirrors similar steps the United States has taken to hold accountable those responsible for kidnapping hostages at the direction of the regime in Tehran,” said Tyler Stapleton, director of congressional relations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about Tehran’s Evin Prison.
“Iran is continuing to use hostage diplomacy to gain leverage even while nuclear negotiations are ongoing with the United States,” Stapleton added. “The Islamic regime cannot be allowed to continually kidnap and unlawfully detain innocent Iranians and foreign citizens as a means of creating leverage in its foreign policy.”