Tehran blamed the United States and Israel for attacking a passenger ship in Jark and its Natanz nuclear power plant, while the Israeli military announced new attacks in Lebanon. The Islamic Republic attempted an offensive against the military base Diego Garcia.
Iran accused the United States and Israel of attacking their nuclear complex in Natanz and a ship on the island of Jark. In response, he bombed two cities of Israel. He first attacked Dimona, and afterward Arad, leaving around 120 people injured. The United States claimed to have destroyed an Iranian arsenal in the Strait of Hormuz, and from Britain denounced a “failed attack” against a British-American base. The Israeli government announced a new wave of attacks on Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut.
Iranian missiles
The Israeli military said an Iranian missile hit the southern Israeli city of Dimona on Saturday, where a nuclear facility is located. Rescuers reported 47 injured. Subsequently, about 75 people were injured in a new Iranian missile attack in Arad. Iranian state television said the first offensive was a response to the previous attack on its own nuclear plant in Natanz.
The first impact came after alarms sounded in the area east of the city of Bersheeba in anticipation of Iran’s missile arrival. As reported by the rescuers of Magen David Adom, the projectile that fell in Diamona left 47 injured, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition. The rest of the injured suffered shrapnel injuries, as well as injuries while on their way to protected areas or panic.
Following the attack on Dimona, police reported the fall of another shell in the city of Arad. Emergency services announced about 75 injured, 10 of them in serious condition.
Iranian state television claimed that the missile attack on Dimona was a response to a previous attack on its own nuclear plant in Natanz.
Attack on a nuclear facility
The Iranian bombing was a response to a US-Israeli attack on the Iranian Natanz uranium enrichment complex.
“The Shahid Ahmadi Roshan enrichment complex of Natanz was attacked this morning,” the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (OAIS) said in a statement.
The organization said that after carrying out technical evaluations in the area, the release of radioactive materials was not detected.
“There is no danger to residents of the areas near this site,” the statement said.
Consulted by EFE in Jerusalem, the Israeli armed forces said they were “not aware of an attack,” and did not specify whether the bombing was carried out by the United States.
They bomb a passenger ship
Iranian media said on Saturday that a passenger ship was hit and caught fire on the island of Jark, southwest Iran, following an attack on the United States and Israel on Friday.
According to the Tasnim agency, the vessel ‘Permiss’ was attacked while it was docked on a dock on the island. At the time of the attack there were no people on board the vessel with a capacity for 350 passengers.
The attack came a day after White House statements, where they claimed the U.S. military can “neutralize at any time” the island of Jark, which stores 90% of the oil that Iran exports to the world.
“U.S. erased Iran from the map”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that “the United States wiped Iran off the map” in a message on its Truth Social network. “The United States has wiped Iran off the map. His leadership has disappeared, his Navy and his Air Force are annihilated, have absolutely no defense and want to reach an agreement. Not me! We are going weeks ahead of schedule,” the president said.
Trump also used his social network to give the Iranian regime an ultimatum. “If Iran does not fully open, without threats, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours of this very moment, the United States will attack and destroy its various power plants, starting with the largest! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President Donald J. Trump.”
The Iranian response was soon to arrive. Army Operational Command spokesman Khatam Al Anbiya, in a statement released by Fars, said: “In line with previous warnings, if Iran’s energy and fuel infrastructure were subject to any aggression by the enemy, all power plants, information technology and desalination agencies of U.S. and Zionist entities in the region would be attacked.”
The exchange of threats came hours after U.S. military announced Saturday that they weakened Iran’s ability to “threaten freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz after attacking an underground arsenal in the Islamic Republic this week.
The facility was used to store anti-ship cruise missiles and other materials, U.S. Central Command leader Brad Cooper said.
According to Cooper, the attack that took place earlier in the week employed several bombs of more than 2 tons. In it, “intelligence support facilities and missile radar repeaters were neutralized that were used to monitor the movements of the ships,” the commander explained.
“The Iranian regime used this reinforced underground facility to discretely store anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile missile shuttles and other equipment that posed a serious risk to international navigation,” the military said.
The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea passage between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean and transits 20% of global crude exports. Since the start of the war, Iran has tried to prevent the passage of ships whose cargoes can benefit the U.S. and Israel.
Attack on a Base in the Indian Ocean
Iran targeted British-American base Diego Garcia amid the Indian Ocean, an official UK source told AFP on Saturday.
Diego Garcia is 4,000 kilometers from Iranian territory and is one of two bases that the United Kingdom allowed the United States to use in “specific defensive operations against Iran.” It is stationed by nuclear submarines, bombers and destroyers.
The official British source confirmed that the “failed attack on Diego Garcia” occurred before the UK announced on Friday that it would give Washington permission to use that base and another located in the southwest of England. The source did not detail any further information about the attack.
Bombing in Lebanon
Israel announced on Saturday a new wave of attacks against targets by the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah in Beirut, hours after Israeli forces urged to evacuate several neighborhoods in the capital’s southern suburbs.
“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is currently attacking targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Beirut,” the military said.
Earlier, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said the Hebrew country continued to attack military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in different areas of southern Beirut, and warned residents of seven neighborhoods that they should “immediately evacuate.”
This week, Israel announced a new ground operation in southern Lebanon, which adds to the bombings underway for nearly three weeks against the country. Since the start of the hostilities, 1,021 people have been killed, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
