Iran-Israel Conflict: Missile Strikes & Retaliation – Netanyahu Vows Response
Israeli forces launched strikes on Tehran early Sunday, hours after Iran retaliated for an Israeli attack on its Natanz nuclear facility with missile strikes that injured over 100 people in Israel, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. The Iranian strikes, which penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, caused damage to residential buildings in Arad and Dimona, with a direct hit reported on a building in Dimona.
Emergency responders in Arad treated 84 people, ten of whom were seriously injured. In Dimona, 33 were wounded, and footage showed a large crater near rubble and twisted metal. Dimona is widely believed to be the site of Israel’s nuclear arsenal, though Israel has never officially confirmed this. The Israeli army confirmed a “direct missile hit” in Dimona, with a 10-year-vintage boy among those injured with shrapnel wounds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate “on all fronts” following the attacks, and subsequently, the Israeli military confirmed launching strikes on Tehran. Iran stated its targeting of Dimona was in response to the Israeli attack on Natanz, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also claiming to have targeted energy infrastructure in Kuwait and the UAE.
The Natanz facility, which houses centrifuges used for uranium enrichment, was previously damaged in June 2025. Following the Natanz attack, Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, reiterated his call for “military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.”
The escalating tensions come amid a notable rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding Israel’s recent attack on a critical Iranian gas field. During an Oval Office meeting Thursday, President Trump told reporters he “neither agreed with nor approved of” the strike on the world’s largest gas field, a vital energy lifeline for Iran. “I told him, ‘Don’t do that’,” Trump said, adding that while the relationship is generally “coordinated,” he sometimes disagrees with Netanyahu’s actions.
Netanyahu responded by stating Israel “acted alone” and agreed to Trump’s request to refrain from further attacks on Iran’s gas field, while attempting to downplay any divergence between the two leaders. He asserted that both he and Trump have consistently recognized Iran as a threat.
The differing stances between Trump and Netanyahu, highlighted by the gas field attack, represent the most significant disagreement between the two leaders since the start of the conflict. The emergence of this disagreement has prompted Gulf allies to urge President Trump to curb Netanyahu’s actions, as the attack on the South Pars gas field triggered retaliatory strikes from Iran against energy infrastructure in other Middle Eastern nations, further driving up global energy prices.
The White House has not issued further statements regarding the recent exchange of strikes, and no further meetings between Trump and Netanyahu have been scheduled.