On March 21, 2026, two nuclear sites in two countries were targeted within hours of each other. Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment complex was struck in what Tehran described as a U.S.-Israeli attack. Hours later, the terrorist regime in Tehran launched a ballistic missile at the southern Israeli city of Dimona — home to the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center — wounding over 100 civilians, including children. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the strike as direct retaliation, revealing once again that the regime’s definition of “retaliation” is the deliberate targeting of civilian populations.

This was not a routine exchange of fire. For the first time in history, a terrorist regime targeted a city housing a nuclear facility in direct response to strikes on its own nuclear infrastructure. A threshold has been crossed — and the implications extend far beyond the Middle East.

Natanz: What Happened — And What Didn’t

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced that the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan enrichment complex at Natanz was struck on Saturday morning, attributing the attack to the United States and Israel. It reported no radiation leakage and no danger to surrounding residents.

The Israel Defense Forces told The Jerusalem Post that it was not aware of an Israeli strike targeting Natanz and could not comment on American activities. Multiple media reports subsequently attributed the attack to the United States, citing the use of bunker-buster munitions. This is the fourth targeted attack on Iranian nuclear facilities since the war began on February 28 — a sustained campaign that has systematically degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

The IAEA confirmed damage to entrance buildings of the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant but stated that no damage was detected at the FEP itself and no radiological consequence was expected.

Yet the most critical question is not who struck Natanz — but what the regime has been hiding beneath it. As I detailed in my previous analysis, Iran possessed 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent as of the IAEA’s last verified inspection on June 13, 2025. That stockpile — enough, if further enriched, for an estimated ten nuclear weapons — is believed to be buried under the rubble of sites previously bombed near Isfahan and Natanz. No international inspector has verified its status in over nine months — because the regime has blocked all access.

Striking entrance buildings does not neutralize what lies deep underground. If the uranium stockpile remains intact beneath the rubble, repeated strikes on surface infrastructure may be degrading access — but not eliminating........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)