Iran says a strike hit a key nuclear facility as Mideast war enters week 4 and US sends more troops
Source: AP
Updated 6:12 AM EDT, March 21, 2026
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was hit in an airstrike Saturday, an official Iranian news agency reported, saying there was no radiation leakage. In Israel, fragments from an Iranian missile slammed into an empty kindergarten as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week.
Overnight and into the morning, Tehran, Iran’s capital, saw heavy airstrikes, residents said. In Iraq, a drone struck the intelligence service headquarters in Baghdad, killing an officer. No group immediately claimed responsibility for that attack.
Israeli army spokesman Nadav Shoshani posted on X a video of the kindergarten building, saying it was damaged by the missile fragments. No casualties were reported as the place was empty at the time.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations in the Mideast even as the United States was sending three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region. Trump’s post on social media followed an Iranian threat to attack recreational and tourist sites worldwide.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-trump-lebanon-march-21-2026-260bac76e5554ff31aaf5a3a30c92a2e
Article updated.
Previous article/headlines -
Updated 5:39 AM EDT, March 21, 2026
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was hit in an airstrike on Saturday, the official Iranian news agency Mizan reported. There was no radiation leakage, it said, as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week.
Natanz, Iran's main enrichment site, was hit in the first week of the war and several buildings appeared damaged, according to satellite images. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog had said that "no radiological consequence" was expected from that earlier strike.
The nuclear facility, located nearly 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, had been targeted by Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, and by the United States. The strike comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering "winding down" military operations in the Middle East even as the United States is sending three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region.
Trump's post Friday on social media followed an Iranian threat to attack recreational and tourist sites worldwide and another day of the airstrikes and drone and missile attacks that have engulfed the region.
Original article/headline -
Iran says its Natanz nuclear facility has been hit in an airstrike
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Iran's Natanz nuclear facility was hit Saturday in an airstrike, the official Iranian news agency Mizan reported. There was no radiation leakage, it said.
Natanz, Iran's main enrichment site, was hit in the first week of the war and several buildings appeared damaged, according to satellite images. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog said that "no radiological consequence" was expected from that earlier strike.
The nuclear facility, located nearly 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, had been targeted by Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, and by the United States.
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