New Delhi/Tel Aviv, Mar 22 (UNI) Iran launched missile attacks on the Israeli strategic southern cities of Dimona and Arad, aimed at nuclear research facility near Dimona, on Saturday night in retaliation of Israeli strikes on the Natanz nuclear facility.
More than 100 people, including two children, were injured in the Iranian missile strikes. Eleven of them are seriously injured in the attacks that took place barely hours after Israel struck Natanz.
Israeli air defences failed to intercept at least two ballistic missiles. Authorities are investigating why did Israeli missile interceptors fail to intercept the incoming missiles, according to Israeli media.
Following the strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir pledged to continue fighting Israel’s enemies on “all fronts.”
Dimona and Arad are strategically and economically significant to Israel, primarily due to their location in the Negev desert and their connection to the country’s sensitive infrastructure. Dimona is globally recognized as the home of the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, widely believed to be the site where Israel produces nuclear weapons.
Arad is located near several major IDF bases and serves as a residential hub for personnel working at the Dimona nuclear facility and nearby high-tech defence industries.
The two were targeted by Iran because of their close proximity (about 25 minutes apart). In military terms, they form a “cluster” that includes nuclear infrastructure, military personnel housing and industrial supply chains.
Iranian media said the strikes targeted Israel’s nuclear research facility, located about 10 km outside of Dimona and 30 km outside of Arad, in retaliation for an US attack on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility earlier in the day.
The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center is believed to be key to Israel’s long-suspected nuclear weapons program.
Netanyahu described the situation in a statement as “very difficult evening in the campaign for our future.”
He spoke with the mayors of Dimona and Arad, and said Israel will ‘’continue to strike our enemies on all fronts with determination.”
