Middle East war at 'perilous stage' with strikes around nuclear sites: WHO

## Summary
Advertisement World Middle East war at 'perilous stage' with strikes around nuclear sites: WHO Iran struck the Israeli town of Dimona, which hosts what is widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, in retaliation for an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz A man walks through the site of an Iranian missile strike in Dimona on Mar 22, 2026. (Photo: AFP/John Wessels) 22 Mar 2026 08:20PM (Updated: 22 Mar 2026 09:02PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST GENEVA: The Middle East war has reached a "perilous stage" with strikes around nuclear sites in Iran and Israel, the World Health Organization warned on Sunday (May 22), as it called for maximum restraint. Iran said the strike was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz , which hosts underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium for Iran's disputed nuclear programme, and was damaged in the June 2025 war. "The war in the Middle East has reached a perilous stage" with the strikes on Natanz and Dimona, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. "Attacks targeting nuclear sites create an escalating threat to public health and environmental safety," he said. "I urgently call on all parties to exercise maximum military restraint and avoid any actions that could trigger nuclear incidents. Related: Trump gives Iran 48 hours to open Hormuz as Tehran strikes Israel No sign Iran's nuclear sites were hit, IAEA says, but Iran alleges one was Source: AFP/ec Sign up for our newsletters Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Subscribe here Get the CNA app Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Download here Get WhatsApp alerts Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app Join here Related Topics Israel War on Iran World Health Organization Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading...

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World
Middle East war at 'perilous stage' with strikes around nuclear sites: WHO
Iran struck the Israeli town of Dimona, which hosts what is widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, in retaliation for an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz
A man walks through the site of an Iranian missile strike in Dimona on Mar 22, 2026. (Photo: AFP/John Wessels)
22 Mar 2026 08:20PM
(Updated: 22 Mar 2026 09:02PM)
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GENEVA: The Middle East war has reached a "perilous stage" with strikes around nuclear sites in Iran and Israel, the World Health Organization warned on Sunday (May 22), as it called for maximum restraint.
An Iranian ballistic missile
ripped open residential buildings
and left dozens wounded late on Saturday in the southern Israeli town of Dimona.
Dimona hosts what is widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons, insisting the site is for research.
Iran said the strike was in response to an
earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz
, which hosts underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium for Iran's disputed nuclear programme, and was damaged in the June 2025 war.
"The war in the Middle East has reached a perilous stage" with the strikes on Natanz and Dimona, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
"Attacks targeting nuclear sites create an escalating threat to public health and environmental safety," he said.
"I urgently call on all parties to exercise maximum military restraint and avoid any actions that could trigger nuclear incidents. Leaders must prioritise de-escalation and protect civilians."
Tedros said the International Atomic Energy Agency was looking into the strikes, and "no indications of abnormal or increased off-site radiation levels have been reported".
The war erupted on Feb 28 when the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran, with Tehran in turn striking targets in Israel and Gulf nations.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel.
Since the war began, the WHO has provided training to its own staff and to other United Nations personnel across 13 countries to help them respond to public health threats in the event of a nuclear incident, said Tedros.
Related:
Trump gives Iran 48 hours to open Hormuz as Tehran strikes Israel
No sign Iran's nuclear sites were hit, IAEA says, but Iran alleges one was
Source: AFP/ec
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
- Iran said the strike was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz , which hosts underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium for Iran's disputed nuclear programme, and was damaged in the June 2025 war. "The war in the Middle East has reached a perilous stage" with the strikes on Natanz and Dimona, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. "Attacks targeting nuclear sites create an escalating threat to public health and environmental safety," he said. "I urgently call on all parties to exercise maximum military restraint and avoid any actions that could trigger nuclear incidents.

### Implications
- Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST GENEVA: The Middle East war has reached a "perilous stage" with strikes around nuclear sites in Iran and Israel, the World Health Organization warned on Sunday (May 22), as it called for maximum restraint.
- Iran said the strike was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz , which hosts underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium for Iran's disputed nuclear programme, and was damaged in the June 2025 war. "The war in the Middle East has reached a perilous stage" with the strikes on Natanz and Dimona, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. "Attacks targeting nuclear sites create an escalating threat to public health and environmental safety," he said. "I urgently call on all parties to exercise maximum military restraint and avoid any actions that could trigger nuclear incidents.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers nuclear, iran, war topics. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 573.