>> This live coverage is now over.

Thirty-nine people were injured on Saturday, March 21 in southern Israel after an Iranian missile strike on the Dimona region, which houses a nuclear research facility, Israeli emergency services announced. In this region located in the Negev Desert, «on all the sites affected, Magen David Adom teams [MDA – Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross] are treating around twenty injured people suffering from injuries caused by shrapnel, traumas incurred while heading to protected areas». According to Iranian state television, this strike is a «response» to the attack on the Iranian nuclear site at Natanz.

Later in the evening, a half-ton missile struck the city of Arad, located in the center of the country. There are about sixty injured. The Israeli army has opened an investigation to explain the failures of the Iron Dome, the system for intercepting enemy missiles. Benjamin Netanyahu speaks of a «difficult evening» for his country, while the president of the Iranian parliament believes that «the sky of Israel is defenseless».

• Twenty-two countries «ready to contribute» to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement, the twenty countries, including the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Japan, also condemned recent Iranian attacks on ships and oil and gas infrastructure, calling for an «immediate and global moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure». The US military also claims to have «reduced» the Iranian threat in the Strait of Hormuz this week by bombing an underground facility housing cruise missiles.
• The Natanz nuclear site struck again. The Natanz nuclear enrichment facility in Iran was hit on Saturday by an Israeli-American strike, according to a statement from the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, released by the Iranian news agency Tasnim. No leaks of radioactive materials have been reported. In early March, this site, already targeted last June during the 12-day war, was hit again. The Israeli army said it was «not aware of a strike» on the nuclear site, while the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, called for «military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident».

• The EU calls on European states to reduce their gas stocks for next winter to limit price increases. In a letter addressed to the states and seen by AFP, European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen emphasizes «the significant impact» of the war on global oil and gas markets. Dans ces circonstances, le responsable de l’UE suggère aux États d’utiliser les «flexibilités» permises par la législation européenne.

  L’intensité des frappes en Iran va «augmenter considérablement» dans les prochains jours, prévient Israël. «La campagne, menée par le président américain Donald Trump et le Premier ministre [israélien] Benyamin Nétanyahou, se poursuivra (…) Nous ne nous arrêterons pas tant que tous les objectifs de la guerre n’auront pas été atteints», a assuré le responsable lors d’une réunion d’évaluation de la situation.

  L’Iran a ciblé la base de Diego Garcia. Selon le Wall Street Journal, l’Iran a tiré deux missiles balistiques vers la base américano-britannique de Diego Garcia, située en plein milieu de l’océan Indien. Aucun des deux missiles tirés n’a touché sa cible, l’un ayant connu une défaillance en vol et l’autre ayant été intercepté, selon le journal, qui cite plusieurs responsables américains.