File image.
A salvo of Iranian ballistic missiles targeted southern Israel on March 21, with at least one of them hitting the city of Dimona, located next to a key nuclear reactor known by the same name.
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said that a total of 47 people were taken to a hospital following the impact in Dimona. One of the casualties, a young boy, was reported to be in serious condition after he was hit by shrapnel. A woman in her 30s was also moderately hurt by glass shards. 31 others were lightly injured, and 14 were treated for acute anxiety.
The Dimona reactor, officially known as the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, is the cornerstone of Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program.
In a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that it is investigating the failure to intercept the Iranian ballistic missile that struck the city. It claimed that its air defenses engaged the incoming missile, but the interceptors failed to knock it down.
Meanwhile, Iran state television reported that the strike on Dimona was carried out as a “response” to an earlier strike on the Natanz nuclear enrichment site. The IDF said it was not responsible for striking Natanz, indirectly pinning the responsibility on the U.S.
A total of six salvos of ballistic missiles were launched at Israel — including one that targeted the southern city of Eilat after the strike on Dimona — since the start of the day, which marked the end of the third week of the American-Israeli war on Iran.
In an apparent response to the latest strikes, the IDF announced that it hit an Iranian nuclear research and development site in Tehran.
According to the IDF, the “strategic” site at the Malek Ashtar University was used by the Islamic Republic’s military industries to develop components for nuclear weapons. The university, subordinate to the Iranian Ministry of Defense, is under Western sanctions over its activities relating to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Click to see full-size image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Since the start of the war, the U.S. and Israel have repeatedly claimed that they have neutralized Iran’s offensive capabilities, but the Islamic Republic continue to launch missiles at a steady pace, and they are even hitting Israel more than before, possibly because the country’s multi-layered air defense network has been depleted to some extent.
The latest strike on Dimona marks a serious escalation as it shows that Iran is willing to respond in kind to American and Israeli strikes.
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the emp is coming to iran power grid soon. they will have no electricity and all their electronics both for defense and offense will be fried. hehehe.
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