Updated March 22, 2026 / 9:22 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Iranian strikes struck two southern Israeli communities near the country’s main nuclear research center, injuring more than 100 people and causing significant damage in the Negev desert. The attacks on Dimona and Arad marked the first time the area around Israel’s nuclear research facility has been directly targeted in the conflict that began three weeks ago.
The strikes occurred hours after an air attack damaged Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site; Israel’s military denied responsibility for the Natanz strike. Israeli forces said they were unable to intercept the missiles that struck Dimona and Arad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited Arad, said no fatalities were reported “due to luck.” He accused Iran of endangering the world and targeting civilians, characterizing the attacks as “mass murder” attempts. Netanyahu urged world leaders to join Israel and the United States in confronting Iran, saying some had begun to move in that direction but “more is needed.” He added that Israel and the U.S. are responding to Iran “with great force, but not on civilians.”
Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom reported at least 64 people injured in Arad: seven in serious condition, 15 in moderate condition and 42 in mild condition; rescue teams were continuing to search rubble for additional casualties. In Dimona, Magen David Adom reported at least 40 people injured.
In a social media post after the strikes, Netanyahu vowed the military would continue its operations, calling the night “a very difficult evening in the campaign for our future” and saying “we are determined to continue to strike our enemies on all fronts.” Lt. Col. Nadav Shosh, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, described the Iranian regime’s actions as “reckless attacks” that target civilians and reveal a disregard for human life.
Video and photographs released by Israeli emergency services showed a large crater near apartment buildings, with outer walls sheared away. Rescue teams said the Arad strike caused damage across at least 10 apartment buildings, with three badly damaged and at risk of collapse; the missile appeared to have hit an open area adjacent to residential blocks.
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though its leaders maintain a policy of neither confirming nor denying that. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported it had not received information of damage to the Israeli research center or any abnormal radiation readings following the strikes.
Iran said the Natanz facility—about 135 miles southeast of Tehran—suffered an airstrike; Iran’s judiciary news agency Mizan reported there was no leakage. The IAEA said it was investigating the Natanz strike but had detected “no increase in off-site radiation levels.” Natanz was previously struck during the June 2025 Iran-Israel 12-day war and later hit that month by the U.S. The IAEA has said much of Iran’s estimated 970 pounds of enriched uranium is elsewhere, under rubble at Isfahan, which the U.S. bombed last June.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the Natanz strike. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf suggested on social media that Israel’s inability to intercept missiles near the heavily defended Dimona area could signal a new phase in the conflict.
Separately, multiple sources briefed on internal discussions told CBS News that the Trump administration has been weighing options to secure or extract Iran’s nuclear materials. Officials said no decision had been made and the timing of any such operation, if ordered by the president, remained uncertain.