Israel, Iran conflict escalates

[Anchor]

The level of conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating.

Israel has been continuously bombing nuclear facilities, and Iran has used inhumane weapons such as cluster munitions.

There are concerns that both sides are crossing the line.

This is reporter Ahn Da-young.

[Report]

Bombs fall on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, causing a strong explosion.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has urged restraint in striking nuclear facilities with radioactive materials, but this site, suspected of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, has become a target.

There is also a possibility that the Bushehr nuclear power plant along the Gulf coast was attacked.

If this nuclear power plant is destroyed and radioactive materials are released in large quantities, neighboring countries will face contamination of their water sources, leading to a shortage of drinking water within days.

[Alexei Likhachev/Russian Nuclear Energy Chief: "(The explosion at the Bushehr nuclear power plant) could be a disaster comparable to or perhaps exceeding all known nuclear accidents in human history."]

Iran retaliated by dropping 'cluster munitions.'

These inhumane weapons contain hundreds of small bombs within a single warhead, capable of causing mass casualties among both military personnel and civilians.

Iran stated that these cluster munitions struck residential areas near Tel Aviv on June 19 local time.

Today, Israel also bombed a nuclear weapons research facility, seemingly determined to uproot Iran's nuclear capabilities, while Iran launched missiles in retaliation, indiscriminately targeting civilian areas.

The intensifying conflict appears to be driven by political reasons, as neither side seems willing to back down.

For now, mediation by the international community, including the United States, seems to be the only solution.

This is Ahn Da-young reporting for KBS News from Paris.