Trump Gives Big Update on Ultimatum to Target Power Facilities; Iran Shocks World with ICBM Strikes

Julie Stahl : Mar 23, 2026
CBN News

Israel targeted Iran's nuclear research and development facility in Iran on Saturday, and Iran later responded by launching a missile at Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located. Hours later, Tehran struck again in the nearby southern Israeli city of Arad. To the shock and dismay of Israelis, neither missile was intercepted and crashed into the cities, doing severe damage, but miraculously, not killing anyone.

(Jerusalem, Israel) — [CBN News] President Trump is giving Iran more time to back off from its blockade of the major oil route in the Strait of Hormuz before he launches attacks on its power grid. Oil futures tumbled on Trump's encouraging news that the US and Iran have had "very good and productive conversations" that could yield "a complete and total resolution" in the war. (Screengrab image: via CBN News)

The facts on the ground appear to tell a different story for now. Iran continued to launch missiles toward Israel overnight after two direct hits this weekend in southern Israel wounded more than 100, and earlier, struck Jerusalem's Old City. Iran also proved that its ICBMs could reach Western Europe with a launch toward a US-UK military base.

Israel targeted Iran's nuclear research and development facility in Iran on Saturday, and Iran later responded by launching a missile at Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located. Hours later, Tehran struck again in the nearby southern Israeli city of Arad.

To the shock and dismay of Israelis, neither missile was intercepted and crashed into the cities, doing severe damage, but miraculously, not killing anyone.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Effie Defrin explained, "These are two separate incidents that happened at different times, and in both, interceptors were fired, but unfortunately, we were not able to intercept the missiles that were fired. From the investigation we carried out in the Air Force, it came out that the failure in the interception in both incidents is not related, one to the other."

Defrin noted that the missiles Iran is using are familiar to Israel, and they are learning new things all the time.

"The Air Force is managing a complex defensive battle. More than 90% of the launches fired at Israel are intercepted. This is an unprecedented achievement," he said.

Late in the afternoon on Friday, Iran fired a missile that landed in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. It's the second time in a week that fragments fell in the historic Old City, as huge missile parts landed near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and on the Temple Mount.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, "They fired on Jerusalem right next to the holy sites of the three monotheistic faiths, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. And by dint of a miracle, again, none of them were hurt, but they were targeting the holy sites of the three major monotheistic religions."

While visiting the impact site in Arad on Sunday, Netanyahu observed that the fact that they targeted civilians with a "mass murder weapon" proves that "Iran endangers the entire world."

"We're responding with great force, but not on civilians. We're going after the regime," the prime minister insisted. "We're going after the IRGC, this criminal gang, and we're going after them personally: their leaders, their installations, their economic assets. We're going after them very strongly."

Netanyahu added that Israel has two clear, defined goals.

"One is to break, completely, their nuclear program; break completely their missile program, break completely their capacity to produce the components for both of these programs," he said. "We're well on our way in achieving it. We've also set a goal of creating conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow this tyranny that has tormented them and made life miserable and is making life miserable for the entire world."

Also on Friday, Iran demonstrated that it had longer-range missiles than previously thought in the West. It fired two ICBMs, which missed a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean some 2,500 miles away. It showed that Iran is capable of hitting Western Europe. It was believed that Tehran had a launching capacity for only half that distance. (Screengrab image: via CBN News)

In an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation", US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz commented, "I can tell you that the UK just condemned the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile at Diego Garcia. That same type of missile, Iran has lied about in terms of its developments, said they were not developing, yet they just lied."

Waltz added that Iran has been hiding behind its space program to develop the missiles.

"Thank God the president is taking action now in stopping this march towards a fully-fledged nuclear program, instead of waiting until after it's developed," he said.

Meanwhile, President Trump gave Iran 48 hours to back off in the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power grid.

In response, Iran claimed it would retaliate by targeting Israeli power plants and those of regional countries supplying electricity to US bases, "as well as economic, industrial, and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares."

Trump challenged NATO countries last week for not wanting to help protect the Strait of Hormuz. Until now, no other country has helped keep the strategic waterway open. However, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Fox News Sunday that many countries are now stepping up to help.

"The good news here is that since Thursday, a group of 22 countries, most of them from NATO, but also Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, and Bahrain, most of the other countries from NATO, (decided) to implement his vision of making sure the Strait of Hormuz is free, is opening up, as soon as that's possible," Rutte said.

In northern Israel, Hezbollah continues to pummel the area, and Israel is striking back at Hezbollah leaders and weapons. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East.