- Iran launched missile strikes on Israeli towns Dimona and Arad, injuring over 100 people
- Dimona houses Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center
- Iran's missile attack on Dimona was a "response" to an earlier strike on its own nuclear site at Natanz
Iran launched a missile strike on Israeli towns of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, and Arad, injuring over 100 people, in what is being called a retaliatory move by Tehran for strikes on its nuclear site at Natanz on Saturday. Follow LIVE Updates
Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona was reportedly on Iran's target in a tit-for-tat move. The two direct hits tore open the fronts of residential buildings and carved craters into the ground, news agency AFP reported.
Iranian missile barrages struck residential buildings in Arad, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran.
In both Dimona and Arad, interceptors were launched that "failed to hit the threats, resulting in two direct hits by ballistic missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms," AFP reported quoting firefighters.
The first responders from the Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service, said 84 people were wounded in Arad, 10 of them seriously, and 33 were injured in Dimona.
"There was extensive damage and chaos at the scene," paramedic Karmel Cohen said.
In a video of a missile strike on Israel, a fireball is seen falling from the sky.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "very difficult evening." He assured to strengthen the emergency and rescue forces operating in the field, and urged people to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command.
"We are determined to continue to strike our enemies on all fronts," he added.
A brief statement said Israeli forces were "currently conducting strikes on Iranian terror regime targets in the heart of Tehran".
"Air Defense Systems Operated But Did Not Intercept The Missile"
"My heart is with the residents of Arad and Dimona tonight," Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
"Emergency forces of the Home Front Command and other rescue and emergency units are operating on the scene now and carrying out rescue operations. From here, I send wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured," he added and advised people to follow the Home Front Command's instructions as "they save lives."
Sharing an update on the attack, Defrin added that the air defense systems operated but did not intercept the missile. IDF assured an investigation into the incident.
"This is not a matter of special or unusual weaponry," he added.
Reuters images from Arad show residential buildings damaged in Iranian missile attack and Israeli soldiers inspecting and assessing the impact of the damage.
Iran's Natanz Nuclear Facility Hit
No radiation leakage was reported from Natanz nuclear enrichment facility after it was hit in an airstrike on Saturday, the official Iranian news agency, Mizan, noted.
Natanz, Iran's main enrichment site, was hit in the first week of the war and several buildings appeared damaged, according to satellite images. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog had said that "no radiological consequence" was expected from that earlier strike.
The nuclear facility, located nearly 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, had been targeted by Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, and by the United States.
