In retaliation to the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, Iran on Saturday launched ballistic missile in southern Israel’s Dimona, which is the site of the Middle East nation’s Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, that led to a collapse of a building, leaving at least 20 people, including a 10-year-old child and a 40-year-old woman, injured.
A video has also gone viral on micro-blogging website X (previously Twitter) showing the impact of the Iranian ballistic missile. In the 32-second video, a missile could be seen striking a building before a loud sound of explosion is heard. However, it is not clear whether the incident led to the collapse of the building or not.
Rescue teams, including those of fire brigade and medical service, have rushed to the spot for a rescue operation, and the injured are being provided medical assistance.ย Meanwhile, Israel’s military has said it was a “direct missile hit on a building” in Dimona, which is a town in the Negev desert.ย
IRGC says revenge for Natanzย
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has called the ballistic missile strike in Dimona a revenge for the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, reported Tehran Times. It is believed that Dimona possess the Middle East’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear arsenal. However, Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity about its nuclear programme and said that the plant in Dimona is only for research.ย
Coming to the Natanz attack, the nuclear facility in the Iranian city was hit earlier on Saturday in an Israeli attack, said Iran, adding that there was no radiation leak. The nuclear facility in Natanz is Iran’s main enrichment site, which is located around 220 kilometers southeast of Tehran. It was also targeted by the United States (US) during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June last year.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog, has also confirmed the attack, but said there was no damage to sites housing nuclear material and there was no radiation. Though, it said that the “damage is visible at two buildings”.
“Based on analysis of latest available satellite imagery, IAEA sees no damage to facilities containing nuclear material in Iran and therefore no radiological release risk at this time,” the IAEA posted on X.ย
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