The uranium enrichment facility at Natanz has sustained repeated strikes from U.S. and Israeli forces over the past year.
A uranium enrichment facility in the Iranian county of Natanz was the target of military strikes on March 21, Iranian officials said.
The reported strike occurred three weeks into the armed conflict the United States and Israel launched against Iran, and Iranian state media reported U.S. and Israeli forces were behind the attack.
The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the Middle East, for comment about the reported strike on the Iranian nuclear facility. CENTCOM did not respond by publication time.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which acts as an international nuclear monitor, announced Iranian authorities had notified the agency about the latest apparent attack on the Natanz nuclear facility. The IAEA has said there have been no reports of increases in off-site radiation levels thus far.
Israeli and U.S. forces each separately attacked the Natanz facility in June 2025. Following that U.S. attack on the Natanz facility—which coincided with similar U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites at Isfahan and Fordow—President Donald Trump and other members of his administration said Iran’s nuclear program had been obliterated.
The Natanz nuclear facility was struck again on March 3. At the time, the IAEA reported damage to the entrance of the underground facility, but said there were no radiological consequences expected.
On March 21, Israeli authorities reported Iranian missile impacts in the southern communities of Arad and Dimona, causing injuries to more than 100 people.
“This has been a very difficult evening in the battle for our future,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the strikes in Arad and Dimona.
The Dimona community sits a short distance from the Negev Nuclear Research Center.
The IAEA said it hadn’t received any indications of damage at the Negev Nuclear Research Center following the strike in Dimona. Still, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi urged restraint following the reported strikes on Natanz and Dimona on March 21.
“Maximum military restraint should be observed, in particular in the vicinity of nuclear facilities,” Grossi said.
The IAEA director has previously warned that the Iran conflict raises the risk of a dangerous nuclear meltdown.
“We cannot rule out a possible radiological release with serious consequences, including the necessity to evacuate areas as large or larger than major cities,” Grossi said on March 2.
In addition to the nuclear sites in Iran and Israel, the United Arab Emirates has four operating nuclear reactors, and Jordan and Syria each have operational nuclear research reactors.
Guy Birchall contributed to this report.
By Ryan Morgan
