Iran war: Strikes near Israel's nuclear center injure dozens

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the fact that ballistic missiles struck near Israel's Dimona nuclear research center appears to signaled "a new phase of the conflict."

"If Israel is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the conflict. Israel's skies are defenceless," Ghalibaf said.

He added that it was time to implement the next pre-designed plans, without offering further details.

Israeli military spokesman, Effie Defrin, however, said the strikes were not a new threat.

"The air defense systems operated but did not intercept the missile. We will investigate the incident and learn from it. This is not a special or unfamiliar type of munition," Defrin wrote on X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday vowed to keep striking Iran after what he called a "very difficult evening."

His remarks, posted in Hebrew on X, came after Iranian missiles struck the southern cities of Dimona and Arad, injuring dozens.

"We are determined to continue striking our enemies on all fronts," he wrote.

The war launched by Israel and the United States on Iran entered its fourth week on Saturday.

At least 59 people have been injured in a new Iranian missile strike on the southern Israeli town of Arad this evening, according to rescue workers.

"This is a very severe scene," emergency medical technician Yakir Talkar from Magen David Adom said, adding there were "many wounded with varying degrees of injury."

Israeli media showed badly damaged buildings in the town, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Dimona.

Earlier in the day, more than 40 people were injured in a separate Iranian missile attack on Dimona, also in southern Israel.

"In both Dimona and Arad, interceptors were launched that failed to hit the threats, resulting in two direct hits by ballistic missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms," firefighters said. 

Both towns are located close to Israel's main nuclear research center.

Germany and more than 20 of its allies have signed a statement to contribute to "appropriate efforts" to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Countries including the UAE, Bahrain, the UK, France, Japan, South Korea and Australia also condemned Iran's attacks on commercial vessels as well as oil and gas facilities in the region.

"The effects of Iran's actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable," they said in the joint statement.

US President Donald Trump has asked US partners to help reopen the shipping lane and criticized them when they haven't.

The US announcement that it will lift sanctions on Iranian crude stranded at sea is an attempt to manipulate the market, since there is no such oil, Iran's Oil Ministry spokesperson, Saman Ghodousi, told Iran’s state media.

"At present, Iran essentially has no crude oil left in floating storage or any surplus available for supply to other international markets, and the US Treasury Secretary's remarks are solely intended to reassure buyers and manage the market psychologically," he said late Friday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Friday night on X that the US was "unsanctioning" some Iranian oil on the water to lower surging oil prices.

Saudi Arabia ordered Iran's military attache and four other embassy staff to leave the country, according to a statement from the kingdom's Foreign Ministry.

The statement said that Riyadh had declared the diplomats persona non grata.

The ministry also reiterated its condemnation of Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Persian Gulf.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that abnormal radiation levels had not been detected after reports of an Iranian strike on the city of Dimona in southern Israel's Negev desert, 

The city of some 37,000 inhabitants is home to a nuclear research center.

"The IAEA is aware of reports of an incident in the city of Dimona, Israel, involving a missile impact and has not received any indication of damage to the nuclear research center Negev," the IAEA said in a statement.

"Information from regional States indicates that no abnormal radiation levels have been detected," it said.

The IAEA said that its director-general, Rafael Grossi, stressed that "maximum military restraint should be observed, in particular in the vicinity of nuclear facilities."

Earlier on Saturday, Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said that over 40 people had been injured in the strike on Dimona.

The attack comes after Israel said it had hit Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, which the IAEA said had produced no radiation leak.

An Iranian ballistic missile hit a building in the city of Dimona in southern Israel on Saturday evening, Israel's ambulance service, Magen David Adom, said.

It said more than 40 people were injured, including a 10-year-old boy.

Israel's main nuclear facility is near Dimona, but there were no reports the site had been hit.

The Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran on Saturday evening and was responding to them.

An estimated ‌1,024 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, according to Lebanese authorities. 

Israel launched its campaign in Lebanon after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, fired rockets into northern Israel to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli military said its forces were conducting a "targeted ground operation" Saturday with the support of Israeli aircraft and that at least four militants were killed.

Hezbollah also released a statement saying its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in the southern village of Khiam.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said Saturday that three deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, and 99 people were wounded, raising the total injured to 2,740. 

Britain has reassured Cyprus that the UK air base on the island won't be used for US attacks on Iran.

The UK is allowing the US to use bases in Britan and on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to strike Iran's missile program.

The British government says Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday that RAF Akrotiri "would not be involved in the UK’s continuation of its agreement with the U.S. to use U.K. bases in collective self-defence of the region."

Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made drone early in the conflict, causing damage but no injuries. 

Iran also fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit.

Iran targeted a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, but the two intermediate-range ballistic missiles it fired did not hit the military base.

The episode raised concerns because it implies that Iran's missiles have a greater range than Tehran has previously acknowledged.

Diego Garcia lies nearly 4,000 kilometers from Iran.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Japan's Kyodo news agency that Iran was ready to let Japan-related vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 90% of Japan's oil imports are carried.

Iran has allowed countries such as China, India and Pakistan to transit safely through the critical shipping route.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said there would need to be an "immediate cessation" of what he described as US-Israeli aggression to end the war and wider regional conflict, Iran's embassy in India posted to X.

Pezeshkian spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by phone earlier Saturday.

Pezeshkian told Modi that there should be guarantees to prevent a recurrence of such "aggression" in the future. He called on the BRICS group of emerging nations, of which India is a founding member and which Iran joined in 2024, to play an independent role in the conflict.

The Iranian president proposed a regional security framework comprising West Asian countries to ensure peace without foreign interference, the post said. 

In a separate post on X earlier on Saturday, Modi said he condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the Middle East in the discussion with Pezeshkian. 

India has ties to both Israel and Iran and has urged for restraint and a return to dialogue to end the conflict.

The United States is on its way to reducing Iran's military-projection capacity, according to the US Department of Defense's Central Command (CENTCOM).

CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper said in his latest video update on the war that US forces "remain on plan to eliminate Iran's ability to project meaningful power outside its borders."

He said airstrikes against an underground facility along Iran's coastline (that was used to store anti-ship cruise missiles, missile launchers and other equipment) had "degraded" the country's ability to limit shipping through Hormuz.

"Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz is degraded as a result," Cooper said in the nearly four-minute video. 

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of sites across Tehran, including a factory that focused on "the production and development of ballistic missile components."

The US and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28, targeting Iran's leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict.

Iran has repeatedly fired ballistic missiles at Israel and Gulf nations since the war began. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address earlier this week that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles, although he did not provide evidence.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday attacks against Iran will "increase significantly" in the coming week. Katz's comments come hours after President Donald Trump said he was considering "winding down" military operations in the Middle East.