Thirty-four people were wounded Saturday night when Iranian missiles targeted Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility, marking a dangerous escalation in Middle East tensions as Iran claimed the assault was revenge for recent attacks on its nuclear infrastructure.
The casualties included a 12-year-old boy and a woman in her thirties who suffered moderate wounds, though medical officials later upgraded the child’s condition to serious. More than twenty additional victims received treatment for shrapnel wounds, injuries from rushing to bomb shelters, and stress-related symptoms.
Warning sirens blared throughout Dimona as Iranian missiles hit a dozen sites in and around the city. Israel’s military acknowledged it failed to intercept the incoming projectiles and announced plans for a full investigation into the defensive breakdown.
Iran’s official Tasnim news agency said the bombardment came “after the US and Israel attacked the Bushehr power plant and the Natanz facilities.”
The agency issued a stark warning, stating: “The enemy has once again received an unforgettable lesson. The missile attack on the Dimona area has once again conveyed a clear message: no area is safe from Iranian missiles. The enemy must surrender before it is too late.”
Dimona serves as the hub of Israel’s suspected nuclear weapons program, with critical installations spread across the surrounding Negev desert. Israeli officials have long refused to confirm or deny the country’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
Iranian officials say American and Israeli forces targeted the Natanz nuclear complex on March 21, though authorities reported no radiation leaks occurred. The International Atomic Energy Agency verified the attack while confirming radiation measurements stayed normal. Last Wednesday, the same watchdog agency reported that a projectile destroyed a building roughly 350 meters from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor.
On Saturday, Israeli forces acknowledged striking a military research facility at Tehran’s Malek Ashtar University. Military officials described the target as a strategic development center where Iranian forces create components for nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems.
Israeli commanders said the university operates under Iran’s Defense Ministry and faces international sanctions for advancing the country’s nuclear and missile programs.
