After the attack on the Iranian nuclear site of Natanz in the morning on Saturday, Iran retaliated later in the day by launching a missile – which hit its target – against the Israeli city of Dimona, which houses a nuclear research center. Here’s what we know.
First, an attack on the Iranian site of Natanz “Following the criminal attacks perpetrated by the United States and Israel against our country, the Natanz enrichment complex was targeted this morning,” said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization on Saturday. Iran had already accused the United States and Israel of striking this site in early March at the beginning of the conflict, as they had done last June.
This Saturday, neither Israel nor the United States claimed responsibility for the strike. However, the desire to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat has been an objective stated by President Donald Trump since the beginning of the offensive.
The Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, was “informed by Iran” of this strike and on Saturday called for “military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.” Tehran, on its part, stated that “no leakage of radioactive materials had been reported in the area.”
At the end of the day, the Israeli army announced that it had struck a university laboratory in Tehran “used by the regime’s military industries and by the ballistic missile system to develop components and nuclear weapons.” This strike is an “additional stage in the continuous effort to reduce the capacity of the Iranian regime to progress towards acquiring nuclear weapons,” added the army, without mentioning the strike on the Natanz site.
Iran’s retaliation against the city of Dimona Later in the day, Iran retaliated by firing a missile at the city of Dimona, in southern Israel. This city notably houses a nuclear research facility. Not a coincidence: Iran stated that it was a “response” to the “enemy” attack on its enrichment complex.
Dimona also houses the Negev Shimon Peres Nuclear Research Center, a nuclear research facility that, according to foreign press reports, has been involved in the production of nuclear weapons in recent decades. Little information leaks about the Dimona nuclear site. Israel maintains a “strategic ambiguity policy,” neither confirming nor denying the possession of nuclear weapons.
The exact locations of the sites hit on Saturday were not yet known, but online images and live broadcasts showed impacts on urban areas, including a building with a mostly destroyed facade, punctured and marked with debris, as well as vehicles on fire. Police released images of an apartment on a floor hit by an impact, with the kitchen wall blown open.
The army stated in a statement that “before the impact, interception attempts were made” unsuccessfully and that the causes of the impact “will be examined.” Rescue services reported over 30 injured on Saturday night.
