At least 39 people were injured in Dimona, home to a nuclear facility in southern Israel, following a barrage of missiles launched from Iran, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Iranian state TV has said the attack was a “response” to an earlier attack on its Natanz nuclear site. There was “no leakage of radioactive materials reported” in Iran, however, according to local media.
The Israeli army confirmed “a direct impact of an Iranian missile” on a building in the city that houses a nuclear research facility, AFP reported.
The IDF has said it is investigating the failure to intercept the Iranian ballistic missile that struck Dimona.
Here are the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump has ruled out pausing the conflict, saying American forces “knocked out everything” and insisting “you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Tehran as “a loyal and reliable partner” in a Nowruz message released by the Kremlin.
- Iraq has declared force majeure on foreign-operated oilfields after disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz cut southern crude output from about 3.3 million barrels per day to roughly 900,000 bpd, Reuters reported, citing oil ministry officials.
- Drone strikes sparked a major fire near a US-linked military complex in Baghdad, while Iran said its drones also targeted military infrastructure at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, including fuel depots and aircraft refueling sites.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
22 March 2026
US President Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within 48 hours.
21 March 2026
Iran will retaliate forcefully if the United States attempts to seize Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told RT.
“If the United States wants to intensify the war, I think the Iranian retaliation will be far more massive than before,” Marandi said.
He pointed to Iran’s missile strikes on energy infrastructure in Qatar and other Gulf states in response to an Israeli airstrike on Iran’s South Pars gas field.
Marandi said further military action in the Gulf would lead to a “long-term crisis” due to the destruction of energy sites and disruptions to shipping. “The Iranians are far more prepared for such a scenario,” he added.
Security camera footage from an Israeli apartment captures the moment of an Iranian missile strike.
Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said missile strikes on Saturday targeted several US outposts, including Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Prince Sultan Air Base in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, and Victory Base in Baghdad.
Missiles were also fired at Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion, and refueling aircraft at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, he said.
The Israeli Air Force and the Home Front Command have opened an investigation into the failure of air defenses to intercept an Iranian missile that struck a residential building in Arad.
Health officials have raised the number of wounded in the attack to 64, as first responders continue to clear the rubble.
At least 30 people were wounded in the Arad area in southern Israel, Israel’s National Emergency has said.
The Times of Israel reported that the injuries were caused by the impact of an Iranian ballistic missile in the city.
People in Tehran have gathered in support of the armed forces, protesting the US-Israeli attacks at the capital.
Others in Tehran hold Eid al-Fitr prayers after overnight air strikes on the city.
A funeral was also held for IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike.
Two Israeli reservists have been wounded by a Hezbollah mortar attack in northern Israel, The Times of Israel has reported, citing the Israeli military.
The two soldiers were hospitalized with shrapnel injuries following the attack earlier today, according to the report.
Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, has stated that Iran’s recent attack on the US-UK military base at Diego Garcia involved the use of “a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers [2,500 miles].”
Tehran is rolling out a new 10mn rial banknote, its highest-ever denomination. Banks this week began distributing the new note, which is worth about $7.
The new bill features a vignette of the 9th-century Jameh Mosque of Yazd, while the back displays an image of the 2,500-year-old Bam Citadel.
Iran’s central bank stated that the new denomination was introduced to “ensure public access to cash.” It also noted that electronic systems (such as debit cards, mobile banking, and internet banking) will remain the primary platforms for financial transactions.
Trump is considering various options for the deployment of US troops within Iran. This includes potentially enhancing passage in the Strait of Hormuz by stationing troops at Iranian ports or on small islands in the Persian Gulf to reduce threats to vessels, according to a report by NBC News.
The options also include conducting an operation to retrieve highly enriched uranium from Iran or deploying troops to seize Iranian oil facilities. The aim would be to disrupt a crucial financial lifeline and force concessions from Tehran, according to the network’s sources.
Footage shared by Israeli media reportedly shows the moment a missile struck Israel’s southern city of Dimona.
In the footage, a large munition streaks down from the air before a loud blast is heard.
According to Israel’s Kan broadcaster, at least 20 people in the city were injured, including a 10-year-old.
Imam Ali Hospital in Andimeshk in southern Iran has been severely damaged in a recent US-Israeli strike, with several units put out of operation, Fars news has reported.
Meanwhile, Pirhosein Kulivand, head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, has estimated that since the start of the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic late last month, 266 medical facilities have been targeted. On top of that, dozens of ambulances have come under attack, with twelve medical professionals and one Red Crescent representative killed, according to Kulivand
“We consider these to be violations of human rights and we update our statistics daily, sending it to the esteemed prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the president of the Red Cross Committee, the president of the Red Cross Federation, the secretariat of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and all international organizations, so that we can carry out our legal follow-ups,” Kulivand added.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said the BRICS alliance, which India currently chairs, should “play an independent role in halting aggression against Iran.”
In a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pezeshkian also proposed establishing a regional security framework made up of West Asian countries “aimed at ensuring peace and stability in the region through regional cooperation without foreign interference.”
“Expressing deep concern over the escalation of tensions and conflict in West Asia, the Prime Minister of India strongly condemned any attacks on energy infrastructure in the region, noting that such actions pose serious threats to global food and energy security and to agricultural exports worldwide. He also emphasized the importance of ensuring the continued security of the Strait of Hormuz and the freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf,” the Iranian Embassy in India wrote in a statement.
The CIA, Mossad and other intelligence agencies still have no clear picture as to the physical condition, whereabouts and the role in Iran’s power structure of recently-elected Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Axios. The publication says that despite Khamenei not releasing any video address to date, both the US and Israeli intelligence services believe that he is alive.
Earlier this month, Iranian authorities confirmed that the supreme leader had sustained some injuries in the first wave of the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28, which killed his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei. Contrary to media claims, the senior official “is in excellent health” and remains “in control of the situation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last Sunday.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis has bemoaned an apparent lack of “strategic articulation of the strategy” by the Trump administration regarding the US campaign against Iran.
The Republican lawmaker said that while he generally supports the military action, “the real question is: What ultimately are we trying to accomplish?” as quoted by AP.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran is bound to have grave ramifications that will reverberate for a long time to come.
The leaders of 22 countries, including the UK, France, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates, have issued a joint statement on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. The signatories “condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.”
The joint statement urges Tehran to cease the laying of mines and drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels attempting to pass through the strategically important waterway.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” the signatories said.
The IDF has claimed to have conducted a “wide-scale strike sortie in Tehran,” attacking dozens of targets, including ballistic missile production facilities. According to the Israeli military, the strikes have significantly degraded Iran’s capacity to manufacture key missile components.
Iranian air defense forces destroyed an Israeli F-16 fighter jet early on Saturday, IRNA media outlet has claimed, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) public relations department.
According to Iran’s Fars News, it was the third enemy warplane struck in Iranian airspace since late February, when the US and Israel launched their campaign against the Islamic Republic.
The Israeli Air Force, in turn, has confirmed that a “surface-to-air missile launch was detected toward an Israeli fighter jet,” with no damage inflicted on the warplane.
The US military has struck more than 8,000 targets in Iran since the start of the conflict late last month, Chief of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, has estimated. According to the admiral, these have included 130 Iranian vessels as well as “thousands of Iranian missiles [and] advanced attack drones.”
“Iran’s combat capability is on a steady decline as our offensive strikes ramp up,” Cooper claimed.
Russia has condemned the attack on Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility, calling it a “blatant violation of international law,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
The “irresponsible actions” of the US and Israeli militaries are creating risks of a “catastrophe” that could affect the entire Middle East, she warned.
Three weeks into the war, the US death toll continues to rise. The US military has confirmed 13 fatalities from Iranian attacks across the region. Additionally, one service member died of a “health-related incident” in Kuwait.
Earlier today, Iran fired missiles towards a joint US-UK base on the island of Diego Garcia after warning that British lives were “in danger” there. Even though the missiles didn't hit the base, it still marks a sharp escalation in regional tensions.
Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, is located around 4,000 km from Iran. It is a critical hub for American military operations across Asia since the base hosts long-range bombers and key strategic assets.
The strike comes shortly after the UK reportedly allowed the US to use the base for operations against Iran.
RT has previously published a feature covering the Diego Garcia story.
Iraq’s National Intelligence Agency has reported in a post on X that its headquarters in Baghdad was attacked by “outlaw entities” on Saturday morning, resulting in the death of an officer.
Iran was “unsuccessful” in targeting the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a UK official source told AFP, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran had fired two ballistic missiles at the facility.
The source said the “unsuccessful targeting of Diego Garcia” occurred before London announced it would allow the United States to use some British bases to strike Iranian sites linked to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has claimed that the Trump administration is misleading the American public when it says Iranian military capabilities have been badly degraded. He cited the recent downing of a US F-35 fighter jet by Iranian air defense as evidence to the contrary. “USS Gerald Ford turns back, and USS Abraham Lincoln drifts farther away,” the Iranian diplomat added in a post on X on Friday, without elaborating.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is “putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran.” In a post on X on Friday, the Iranian diplomat suggested that Starmer is going against the wishes of the “vast majority of the British People [who] do not want any part in the Israel-U.S. war of choice on Iran.” Tehran will exercise its right to self-defense in light of these recent developments, Araghchi warned.
The UAE said its air-defense systems intercepted three ballistic missiles and eight drones launched from Iran on Saturday.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said strikes against Iran would intensify this week, warning that “the intensity of the strikes that the IDF and the US military will carry out… will significantly escalate.”
Israel is “determined to continue leading the offensive… to decapitate its commanders and thwart its strategic capabilities,” he said, adding the country “will not stop until all war objectives are achieved.”
Following the US-Israeli aggression, “Iran now would have even more incentive to develop a nuclear bomb than it did before,” Peter Kuznick, director of nuclear studies at American University, has told RT. He noted that the previous supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had issued a religious injunction against the development of nuclear weapons in Iran – a decision his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei could revise.
According to Kuznick, the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, as well as the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by American commandos in January and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, have served as a lesson to all other nations that nuclear weapons are the sole security guarantee against US power projections.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been informed by Iran that the Natanz nuclear site was attacked on Saturday, adding that no increase in off-site radiation levels had been reported.
The Natanz enrichment facility was previously reported damaged earlier in the current conflict, with the International Atomic Energy Agency confirming in early March that strikes had affected buildings and infrastructure at the site.
Earlier this week a projectile destroyed a structure about 350 meters from the reactor at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant. The IAEA said the reactor and staff were unharmed while warning that attacks near nuclear facilities risk violating key wartime nuclear safety principles.
Iran’s army said its drones targeted Israeli military infrastructure in the “occupied territories” at dawn on Saturday, including fuel depots and refueling aircraft deployment sites at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, claiming the strikes were meant to disrupt fighter jet refueling and airport operations.
“Despite the intense censorship by the Zionist enemy, the repeated strikes… have severely disrupted refueling of military aircraft, airport operations, and flights,” the statement said, warning drone operations would continue “until the threat against the dear Iranian nation is eliminated.”
Iran’s state television has released footage purportedly showing an Iranian Army drone strike targeting military infrastructure at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Israel’s Home Front Command has said search-and-rescue teams are operating at the impact site of a strike they claim hit a kindergarten in central Israel.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch also cancelled Passover holiday camps in 18 municipalities after a reported strike hit a daycare in Rishon Lezion, local media said, adding the decision was brought forward following the incident.
Iran’s armed forces have vowed the war will continue until further attacks on the country are “removed from criminals’ agenda,” saying recent “unprecedented” strikes demonstrate Tehran’s “high hand in the enemy’s permeable skies.”
The IDF said its troops identified several armed Hezbollah militants during a targeted ground operation in southern Lebanon overnight, eliminating one fighter in a ground engagement and three others with tank fire after directing an Israeli Air Force strike on militants who had opened fire. The military added that no Israeli troops were injured in the clashes.
The IDF also said the Israeli Air Force struck several Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut based on military intelligence, vowing to continue operations against the group, which it accused of joining the war with the backing of Iran, and stressing it would not allow harm to Israeli civilians.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nasser Eldine said the death toll from Israeli strikes has surpassed 1,000, with thousands more wounded, and warned that medical facilities have been heavily affected.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the Natanz enrichment complex was hit in a renewed Israeli-US attack on Friday morning. In a written statement, the agency said the strike targeted the Martyr Ahmadi Roshan facility, calling the action a violation of international law and commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as nuclear safety regulations.
The organization added that technical teams had carried out specialized assessments to determine whether any radioactive contamination had been released in the surrounding area. “Based on the obtained results… no radioactive material leakage has been reported at this complex, and no danger threatens the residents of the surrounding areas of this site,” the statement said, noting that prior precautions and monitoring systems had been in place.
The IDF said Home Front Command search and rescue teams were being deployed to missile impact sites in central Israel, urging the public to avoid gathering near the locations and to continue following official safety guidelines.
A potential Western ground operation against Iran would amount to a “suicide mission,” former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has warned, arguing that any large-scale invasion would face overwhelming logistical and geographic obstacles. Speaking to RT, he said the US would need to deploy “an army of about 3 million” to defeat Iran’s forces — far beyond its current capabilities — adding that even limited troop deployments would be unable to achieve “any meaningful objective.”
Johnson also dismissed recent US claims of battlefield success, accusing Trump of being “detached from reality” and questioning the logic of declaring victory while the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. He warned that inserting Western light infantry into Iran would likely result in “a massacre of Western forces,” stressing that sustaining troops in combat conditions there would be nearly impossible due to stretched supply lines and Iran’s rugged terrain.
Iraq has declared force majeure on oilfields developed by foreign companies after disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz effectively halted crude exports, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two Iraqi oil ministry officials familiar with the matter.
The move comes as escalating regional tensions have made it difficult for tankers to load and depart from the country’s main southern export terminals, forcing operators to curb production as storage capacity fills. Southern output has reportedly fallen sharply from around 3.3 million barrels per day to roughly 900,000 bpd, with some crude being redirected to domestic refineries.
Iran has fired ballistic missiles toward the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, about 4,000 km from Iranian territory, the Wall Street Journal reported citing US officials. According to the report, the missiles did not hit the facility — one is believed to have failed during flight while a US Navy warship attempted an interception.
Iranian media framed the launch as a demonstration of Tehran’s long-range strike capability. Mehr News Agency said the move showed the reach of Iranian missiles was “beyond what the enemy previously imagined.”
Video posted by Iran’s Tasnim news agency appears to show significant damage to residential and commercial buildings in Tel Aviv following an Iranian missile strike.
An Israeli strike that narrowly missed an RT journalist team in southern Lebanon was a “rogue action” that violated international law and reflected a broader pattern of targeting media workers, according to Christopher Helali, international secretary of the American Communist Party. The incident showed a “deliberate targeting of journalists,” he told RT stressing that clearly identified media personnel are protected civilians under the Geneva Conventions and “are not to be bombed” while reporting from conflict zones.
On Thursday, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity were injured in what appeared to be a deliberate Israeli airstrike on their filming position, despite wearing clearly labeled press uniforms. Helali warned Israel acts with “impunity,” arguing that continued strikes on civilian infrastructure and reporters risk escalating tensions and silencing independent coverage. “If nobody will hold you accountable, what’s the point of the law?” he said, adding that such incidents could make journalists “even stronger and more dedicated” to their work.
The US has evacuated additional personnel from its embassy compound in Baghdad following recent rocket and drone attacks on American diplomatic facilities, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed officials
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Iran’s leadership on the occasion of Nowruz, describing Tehran as “a loyal and reliable partner of the Russian Federation,” according to a message released by the Kremlin’s press service.
Shrapnel from Iranian missiles hit the Rishon LeZion area south of Tel Aviv during the latest barrage, damaging several buildings and triggering emergency response operations, Israeli media reported. Rescue teams said they received multiple reports of injuries caused by falling debris as air raid sirens sounded across parts of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Footage allegedly shows scenes of widespread destruction in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas following Israeli-American airstrikes.
A major fire reportedly broke out at the US Victory base in Baghdad following a drone attack.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organization is exploring ways to help restore safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting a framework similar to the Black Sea grain corridor. In an interview with Politico, he said his “main objective” was to see whether conditions could be created in the strategic waterway comparable to earlier efforts to keep global trade moving amid hostilities.
The Black Sea deal, agreed in 2022 between Russia and Ukraine with UN and Turkish mediation, created a monitored safe shipping corridor that enabled tens of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural cargo to leave ports during the conflict, although Moscow later withdrew from the arrangement, saying its own food and fertiliser exports continued to face obstacles. Guterres added that the UN is engaging Gulf states and European officials on possible de-escalation and maritime security measures.
United Airlines is preparing for a prolonged period of elevated oil prices, with Chief Executive Scott Kirby telling staff he expects crude to stay above $100 a barrel until the end of 2027 and could spike as high as $175, according to a Reuters report.
Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled since late February, potentially increasing the carrier’s annual fuel bill by about $11 billion, prompting plans to cut less profitable flights and keep services to Tel Aviv and Dubai suspended.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will temporarily allow the sale of Iranian crude already stranded at sea to ease supply pressures. Writing on X, he said the Treasury was issuing “a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization” that would “quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets… helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply.”
He stressed the measure is “strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production,” adding the US would continue to maintain “maximum pressure” on Iran while working to expand global energy supply and stabilize markets.
Trump has downplayed Iran’s remaining military role in the conflict, saying its actions now largely amount to disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“From a military standpoint, all they’re doing is clogging up the strait,” Trump said on Friday, arguing that securing the vital energy route would be a relatively straightforward task.
Describing efforts to reopen the waterway, he said it was “a simple military maneuver… but you need a lot of help. You need ships, you need volume,” while criticizing NATO allies for failing to support the operation.
He added that major energy-dependent nations should take responsibility for the route, suggesting that “at a certain point, it will open itself.”
Trump has claimed US forces have effectively defeated Iran militarily, rejecting calls for a ceasefire while speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday.
“Oh, I think we’ve won,” Trump said, adding that US strikes had “knocked out their Navy, their Air Force… their anti-aircraft. We’ve knocked out everything.”
He insisted Iran was no longer capable of mounting a meaningful military response. “We’re roaming free… From a military standpoint… they’re finished,” he said.
Trump also ruled out pausing the conflict during the same exchange with journalists. “Well, look, we can have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”
Kuwait’s military has said its air defense systems were responding to a missile and drone attack on Saturday morning, as Iran continues to strike Gulf nations.
Footage aired by Press TV appears to show the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with visible damage to buildings and debris scattered across the area.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the 70th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, saying more than 55 locations linked to US forces and Israel across the region were targeted in the latest phase, and releasing footage it said showed missile and drone strikes.
In a statement on Saturday, the force described the opening moments of the strikes as marked by “loud explosions, bursts of fire, and columns of smoke,” adding that attacks were carried out using Qiam and Emad missile systems alongside drones as part of what it called a strategy of “gradual attrition.”
According to the IRGC, five US military installations — including al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia, al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, Ali al-Salem in Kuwait, Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain — were among the targets, while Aerospace Force units also focused on strategic areas in Haifa and Tel Aviv. The Corps warned it would continue to strike the “origin of any aggression” against Iran’s sovereignty, saying its forces had prepared for a further stage of confrontation.