March 21, 2026
Iran reported that the Natanz uranium-enrichment complex in central Iran was struck on Saturday in an attack Tehran blamed on the United States and Israel. The country’s Atomic Energy Organization said there was no release of radioactive material and no danger to nearby residents, state-linked Tasnim news agency reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had notified the agency and that its preliminary assessment found no radiation leak. The IAEA said it is investigating the incident and reiterated director Rafael Grossi’s appeal for restraint by all parties to prevent a nuclear accident.
Natanz, a central site in Iran’s civilian enrichment program, has been damaged previously during the wider conflict. Satellite imagery showed earlier war-related damage to buildings there, and the facility was bombed in June of last year during a prior phase of hostilities. Western governments have repeatedly warned that Iran could use enrichment to reach weapons-usable uranium levels, a charge Tehran rejects.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said this week the intensity of strikes by the Israel Defense Forces and the US military would increase, and that operations would focus on Iran’s leadership and strategic capabilities to remove threats to Israeli and US interests. Katz’s remarks followed comments by US President Donald Trump that he was considering winding down operations, but Washington’s recent dispatch of additional warships and Marines to the region suggested a continued military buildup.
The Israeli military said it had launched a wave of strikes on so-called regime targets in Tehran early Saturday and also conducted attacks in Beirut against positions linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israel said it had detected missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory multiple times within a six-hour window, though it gave no immediate assessment of damage or results. Hezbollah said its fighters engaged Israeli forces in six southern Lebanese villages. The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has been the deadliest spillover from the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, with more than 1,000 reported killed in Lebanon and over one million displaced.
Regionally, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting 22 drones overnight over the kingdom’s eastern province. Iran has launched drone and missile strikes on neighboring Gulf states since the start of the US-Israeli offensive, raising concerns about energy supplies and the protection of oil infrastructure.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, a joint US-UK facility. US officials told the paper neither missile struck the target: one reportedly failed in flight and the other may have been intercepted by a missile launched from a US warship. If verified, the launches would indicate Iran may have missiles with longer reach than previously understood.
The conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil shipments. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News that Iran was prepared to ensure safe passage for Japanese vessels and denied that Tehran had closed the strait, saying restrictions applied only to countries attacking Iran while other nations would be assisted.
To dampen global oil-price shocks, the United States temporarily eased sanctions to permit the sale, delivery or offloading of Iranian-origin crude and petroleum products that were already loaded on vessels at sea as of March 20. The US Treasury authorized those transactions through April 19; US officials described the move as a short-term measure to use available Iranian barrels to help keep prices down. Washington has taken similar temporary sanction adjustments for Russian oil in recent months to stabilize markets.
On the diplomatic front, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin sent Nowruz greetings to Iranian leaders and said Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner amid Tehran’s crisis, according to the Kremlin. At the same time, Russian officials have repeatedly said they do not want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, warning it could spur a regional arms race.
In Europe, the Financial Times reported that the European Commission has urged member states to lower gas storage filling targets to 80 percent of capacity this season and to allow more flexibility, citing disruptions and uncertainty in energy markets tied to the conflict.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and other international figures have appealed for restraint to prevent escalation and avoid accidents at nuclear facilities. The continuing attacks on sites, interruptions to shipping, and strikes across the region have underscored risks to regional stability, global energy markets and civilian safety as the US-Israeli campaign against Iran continues.