On March 21, 2026, Iran launched ballistic missiles at the Israeli cities of Arad and Dimona in southern Israel, both near the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center. At least 180 people were wounded, including a 10-year-old boy. Seven were seriously injured.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the IDF's international spokesperson, said Israeli forces have intercepted 92% of incoming Iranian projectiles, but interceptors launched in Dimona and Arad failed to stop two direct hits by ballistic missiles. CBS News reported it was the first time Israel's nuclear research center had been targeted in the war. The strike “sheared the facade off several adjacent apartment blocks and shattered glass for blocks around” in Arad.
Iran framed the strikes as retaliation for an attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility earlier that day. The IAEA reported no damage to the Dimona nuclear facility and no abnormal radiation levels but urged “maximum military restraint” near nuclear sites.
This escalation was a direct consequence of Trump's war on Iran, launched without congressional authorization on February 28. Over 1,500 Iranians had been killed by this point. The war Trump started was now raining missiles on Israeli civilians — the very population whose security Trump claimed to be protecting by attacking Iran in the first place.
Correction (October 2, 2026): We removed six citations whose links do not resolve to the cited article and could not be verified: NBC News (“Iran strikes Israeli cities near nuclear research center, 180+ wounded”); Al Jazeera (“Iranian missiles hit Arad and Dimona in retaliation for Natanz strike”); CBS News (“Israel air defenses fail to stop Iranian missile hits near nuclear site”); Military.com (“Iranian ballistic missiles penetrate Israeli defenses near Dimona”); Times of Israel (“180 wounded as Iranian missiles strike near Dimona nuclear center”); and Haaretz (“IAEA urges restraint after Iran strikes near Negev Nuclear Research Center”). The entry also said the strikes were the first time Iranian missiles penetrated air defenses near the nuclear site; the remaining sources say only that it was the first time the nuclear research center had been targeted in the war, and the entry now says that.