The Israeli military has announced it struck an underground nuclear site in Iran where it said scientists were “covertly” developing a key component for an atomic weapon.

“The [military] intelligence continued to follow the scientists’ activities and located their new location at this site in a manner that enabled a precise strike on the covert underground compound,” it said, displaying a map showing the facility on the western outskirts of Tehran.

“In the site a group of nuclear scientists operated covertly to develop a key component for nuclear weapons.”

The scientists had been working at the underground location after Israel and the US struck several Iranian nuclear sites during their previous war in June.