Iran hits Israeli town housing nuclear facility in retaliation for Natanz strike

Source: The Guardian/AFP

Sat 21 Mar 2026 16.58 EDT
Last modified on Sat 21 Mar 2026 17.19 EDT


An Iranian missile has hit the Israeli town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, in what Iran said was retaliation for strikes on its own nuclear site at Natanz.

Dimona hosts a facility just outside the main town widely believed to possess the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons. Iran’s atomic energy organisation earlier accused the US and Israel of hitting the Natanz enrichment complex, but noted there was “no leakage of radioactive materials reported”.

The Israeli army told AFP there had been a “direct missile hit on a building” in Dimona, with Magen David Adom first responders saying their teams had treated 33 people injured at multiple sites, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel wounds.

“There was extensive damage and chaos at the scene,” paramedic Karmel Cohen said.The Israeli military said “interception attempts were carried out” after the missiles were detected.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/21/iran-hits-israeli-town-housing-nuclear-facility-in-retaliation-for-natanz-strike