Israel’s nuclear city hit: Iran missiles reach Indian Ocean as war enters new phase

Iran launched two long-range ballistic missiles at the joint United States-United Kingdom military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, March 22, 2026, while simultaneously firing ballistic missiles that struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, wounding more than 130 people and causing significant structural damage near the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center. Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir confirmed the Diego Garcia strikes and said the missiles had a range of approximately 4,000 kilometres, representing the first time Iran had used long-range ballistic missiles since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28, 2026.

The strikes marked a significant escalation in a conflict now entering its fourth week. The attacks on Dimona and Arad constituted the first time the Israeli nuclear research centre had been specifically targeted in the current war. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had received no indication of damage to the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center at Dimona and confirmed that no abnormal radiation levels had been detected in the area.

Iranian state television framed the Saturday strikes on Dimona and Arad as a direct response to what Tehran said was a United States-Israeli attack on the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz nuclear enrichment complex earlier the same day. Iran said no radioactive leakage had occurred at Natanz. An unnamed Israeli official, quoted by the Associated Press, denied that Israel was responsible for the Natanz strike. The Israeli military said it was not aware of Israeli strikes in that region and has not released a comprehensive statement on the matter. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was investigating the reported strike and had found no increase in off-site radiation levels near Natanz.

What damage did the Iranian missile strikes on Dimona and Arad in southern Israel cause on March 22, 2026?

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement in the early hours of Sunday, March 22, that it had targeted military installations and security centres in southern Israel. Israeli Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the army’s spokesperson, said in a post on the social media platform X that Israel’s air defence systems had been activated but had failed to intercept the incoming missiles. He said the military would investigate the failure.

Israel’s firefighting and emergency services confirmed two direct hits by ballistic missiles carrying warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms. At least 88 people were wounded in Arad, including 10 in serious condition. A further 39 people were wounded in Dimona, including a 10-year-old boy who was in critical condition with multiple shrapnel wounds. Israel’s emergency services said the overall count exceeded 130 casualties across both cities. Rescue workers said a direct hit in Arad caused widespread damage across at least 10 apartment buildings, three of which were in danger of collapsing. In Dimona, three separate impact sites were identified, with one three-storey building completely collapsed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office following the strike on Arad that it had been a very difficult evening in the battle for Israel’s future and vowed to continue attacking Iran. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a video statement that the intensity of the United States-Israeli attacks against Iran’s ruling government would increase significantly in the week ahead. Schools in the surrounding Ramat Negev Regional Council were cancelled for the following day.

The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center is located approximately 13 kilometres southeast of Dimona. The city of Arad lies roughly 35 kilometres from the centre. Both cities are situated near several military installations, including Nevatim Air Base, one of Israel’s largest air force facilities. Israel maintains a longstanding policy of deliberate ambiguity on nuclear weapons, neither confirming nor denying their existence.

Why is Iran’s first use of long-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia significant for European and global security?

Israeli military chief Zamir said Iran fired two ballistic missiles with a range of 4,000 kilometres at Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean approximately 6,400 kilometres from Iran. The Israeli military characterised this as the first use of long-range missiles by Iran in the conflict. Zamir stated in a public statement that the missiles were not intended to strike Israel but that their range placed European capitals including Berlin, Paris, and Rome within direct threat range.

Neither of the missiles struck Diego Garcia, according to several United States officials. Britain condemned Iran for targeting the joint base and described the attack as representing a dangerous escalation. A source at Britain’s defence ministry said the attack had occurred before the British government had given specific authorisation on Friday for United States bombers to use Diego Garcia to attack sites used to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Defence analysts had previously assessed that Iran’s longest-range operational ballistic missiles could travel between 2,000 and 2,500 kilometres, covering Israel and United States-linked bases across the Persian Gulf region. The Diego Garcia strike raised immediate questions about how Iran extended its range. Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said Iran’s Simorgh space launch vehicle could be adapted to provide greater range at the likely cost of terminal accuracy. [SINGLE SOURCE – VERIFY] Israeli army chief Zamir described the weapon as a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile. Iran issued no immediate statement confirming the technical specifications of the weapon used.

What happened at Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment complex and what is the current status of Iran’s nuclear programme?

Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday that the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz nuclear enrichment complex, located in central Iran, was struck in an airstrike by United States and Israeli forces. Iranian authorities said technical experts found no radioactive leakage had occurred and that nearby residents were not at risk. The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi urged maximum military restraint, particularly in the vicinity of nuclear facilities, and said the Agency was closely monitoring the situation.

The Natanz complex had previously been targeted during the 12-day war that the United States and Israel waged against Iran in June 2025. The International Atomic Energy Agency had earlier stated that the bulk of Iran’s estimated 440 kilograms of enriched uranium was located elsewhere, beneath rubble at its Isfahan facility, following prior strikes.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli military announced it had struck a research and development facility at Tehran’s Malek Ashtar University, which Israel said had been used to develop components for nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Israel’s military said it would not allow the Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief said separately that he did not believe the current military campaign could entirely eliminate Iran’s nuclear programme even if the main facilities were heavily damaged.

How have Iranian attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz affected regional and global markets since the war began?

Iran launched what it described as its 70th wave of attacks on Saturday, targeting energy and military installations across the region. Iran struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan energy facility, with authorities reporting extensive damage and a reduction in Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity of 17 percent. Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery came under attack several times by Iranian drones. Saudi Arabia ordered Iran’s military attache and four other Iranian diplomats to leave the country on Saturday, declaring them persona non grata.

Iran also said it fired drones at United States bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait used to stage attacks on Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf. Iran launched attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Israel. Natural gas prices in Europe surged by as much as 35 percent in the week following Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, the largest natural gas field in the world, which Iran shares with Qatar. The European Union urged member states to lower gas storage targets and begin refilling reserves gradually to curb demand.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated in an interview with Japan’s Kyodo news agency that Iran had not closed the Strait of Hormuz but had imposed restrictions on vessels belonging to countries involved in attacks against Iran. Araghchi said Iran was seeking not a ceasefire but a complete, comprehensive, and lasting end to the war. He added that Iran was prepared to ensure safe passage for countries such as Japan if they coordinated with Tehran. The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies transit, had been effectively closed to most commercial shipping.

What is the current state of the United States-Israel war on Iran in week four and what further escalation has been threatened?

United States President Donald Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social platform late Saturday threatening to obliterate Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Trump said the United States would hit and obliterate Iran’s power plants, starting with the largest one first, if the waterway was not fully open without threat within that timeframe. The statement represented a significant reversal: barely a day earlier, Trump had spoken about winding down the war.

The war began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated missile attacks on multiple locations in Iran. Trump stated at the time that the attacks were intended to instigate regime change and to terminate Iran’s nuclear programme. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the latter was killed by Israel on the first day of the war, had not been seen in public since being named to the role. Iran confirmed the deaths of several senior officials in the weeks since, including Ali Larijani, former parliament speaker and head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, who led the Basij paramilitary forces.

United States Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said this week that he believed the original mission was virtually accomplished and that the United States had met its objectives of destroying Iran’s ballistic missiles, their means of production, and its naval forces. Johnson acknowledged that Iran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was prolonging the conflict and noted that United States allies had largely declined to contribute forces.

Death tolls reported by news agencies as of Sunday, March 22, indicated more than 1,500 people killed in Iran since the war began, over 1,000 in Lebanon where Israel has also been conducting strikes against Hezbollah, at least 60 in Iraq, and 17 in Israel, including two Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon. More than 13 United States military personnel had been killed in the region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran had been displaced. Iran said it targeted Beirut on Sunday as part of ongoing operations against Lebanese Hezbollah.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on the social media platform X before news of the Arad strike spread that if the Israeli military was unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it was operationally a sign of entering a new phase of the battle. Iran’s armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi issued a threat that recreational and tourist sites worldwide would not be safe for United States and Israeli military commanders and officials, according to Iranian state television.

What position has the International Atomic Energy Agency taken on the risk of nuclear accidents from strikes on Iranian and Israeli facilities?

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi issued a statement urging that maximum military restraint should be observed, in particular in the vicinity of nuclear facilities. The Agency confirmed it had received no reports of damage to the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center at Dimona and said radiation monitoring showed no abnormal levels in the area. The Agency also confirmed it had found no increase in off-site radiation levels at the Natanz complex and said it was continuing to monitor the situation closely.

Grossi said separately that he did not believe the military campaign could entirely eliminate Iran’s nuclear programme. The Agency noted that the bulk of Iran’s enriched uranium was estimated to be beneath rubble at the Isfahan facility following prior strikes. Iran is not believed to have completed the development of a nuclear weapon, though Western governments have long argued that its ballistic missile programme was designed to support a potential nuclear delivery capability, a characterisation Tehran has consistently rejected.

Key takeaways: What the Iran long-range missile strikes and Dimona attack mean for the region and global security

• Iran fired two ballistic missiles with a range of 4,000 kilometres at the joint United States-United Kingdom base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean on March 22, 2026, the first time Iran had deployed long-range missiles in the current conflict, which began on February 28.
• Iranian missiles struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, both near the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, wounding more than 130 people including several critically; the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed no damage to the nuclear research centre and no abnormal radiation levels.
• Iranian state television said the Dimona and Arad strikes were in retaliation for a United States-Israeli strike on the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz nuclear enrichment complex; Israel denied responsibility and the International Atomic Energy Agency found no radiation increase at Natanz.
• United States President Trump threatened to obliterate Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully reopened within 48 hours, reversing an earlier suggestion that the war was winding down.
• The cumulative death toll across Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, and United States military personnel exceeded 2,600 as the conflict entered its fourth week, with millions displaced in Lebanon and Iran.