Iran Has Fired 400 Missiles at Israel, 92% Intercepted since Start of War

A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani
A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani
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Iran Has Fired 400 Missiles at Israel, 92% Intercepted since Start of War

A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani
A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani

Israel's military said on Sunday that Iran had fired more than 400 ballistic missiles at Israel since the start of the Middle East war, with around 92 percent of them intercepted.

The figures were announced a day after Iranian missiles struck two towns in southern Israel, leaving around 175 people needing medical treatment.

"Iran has fired over 400 ballistic missiles. We have had great interception rates. We have approximately a 92 percent successful interception rate," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.

One of the towns hit on Saturday was Dimona, widely believed to hold Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal.

The impact of the missile was just five kilometres from the town's nuclear facility, AFP reported.

The other nearby town to be hit was Arad, which saw extensive damage to several buildings.

Shoshani said the missiles fired on Saturday were "not different from ballistic missiles" and that there had now only been four direct hits during the war so far.

The Israeli military has said it will investigate the failure to intercept the incoming fire on Saturday.

"We have intercepted in the past and will intercept in the future," Shoshani said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Saturday was a "very difficult evening" and urged residents to head to protection centres whenever sirens blare.

On Sunday he visited Arad, where he vowed to continue pursuing top Iranian officials.

"We are going after the IRGC (Iran's Revolutionary Guards), this criminal gang," Netanyahu told journalists at the site.

"We're going after them personally, their leaders, their installations, their economic assets. We're going after them personally."

One man was wounded Sunday in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv in what local media said was a blast from a cluster munition.



Two Foreigners Arrested in Iran for Importing Starlink Technology

People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Two Foreigners Arrested in Iran for Importing Starlink Technology

People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
People walk through the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (AFP)

Four individuals, including two foreign nationals, were arrested in Iran's northwest, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on ‌Sunday, ‌for being part ‌of ⁠a "US-Israel-linked espionage network."

The ⁠foreigners, whose nationality was not disclosed, are accused of importing ⁠satellite internet ‌equipment such ‌as Starlink, which ‌is a ‌criminal offence in the country, which has faced ‌seven weeks of an internet blackout.

Hundreds ⁠of ⁠Iranians have been arrested for "cooperating with enemy states" since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.


Türkiye ‘Optimistic’ Middle East Ceasefire Will Be Extended, Says FM

 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Türkiye ‘Optimistic’ Middle East Ceasefire Will Be Extended, Says FM

 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Türkiye said it remained "optimistic" that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States set to expire on Wednesday would be extended.

"No one wants to see a new war break out when the ceasefire expires next week. We hope ... the parties will extend the ceasefire," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

"I hope there'll be an extension. I am optimistic," he said.


UK Ministers Back Starmer Amid Fresh Calls to Quit

 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)
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UK Ministers Back Starmer Amid Fresh Calls to Quit

 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, on April 17, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Pool via Reuters)

British government ministers on Sunday backed embattled premier Keir Starmer as he struggles to shake off a scandal over long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson.

Starmer is due to face lawmakers in parliament on Monday to explain how Mandelson was appointed Britain's ambassador to the United States in late 2024 despite failing to pass security checks.

The beleaguered prime minister, who has been dogged by the controversy for months, said Friday that he and other ministers were not told Mandelson had failed the vetting process, calling that "unforgivable".

He has blamed foreign office mandarins for allowing Mandelson's appointment against the advice of security officials, and sacked the department's top civil servant Olly Robins on Thursday.

But ex-civil servants have accused Dowing Street of scapegoating Robbins while opposition leaders have called for Starmer to quit, with accusations ranging from incompetence to willful misleading of the public.

Technology minister Liz Kendall told the BBC on Sunday that Starmer would not have appointed Mandelson had he known that he had not received the appropriate security clearance.

Deputy prime minister David Lammy, who was foreign secretary when Mandelson was appointed to Washington, said the same in an interview with the Guardian published late Saturday.

Kendall said Starmer should remain in his job because he had "made the right call" on big issues, such as building closer relations with the European Union and limiting Britain's involvement in the Iran war.

"I think he is an honest man and a man of integrity who says it was a mistake to appoint him," she told Sky News.

Lammy said it was "inexplicable" that the foreign office had kept Downing Street in the dark, telling the Guardian he had been "shocked and surprised" when he learned what happened.

Starmer, already widely unpopular with the British public due to several policy mis-steps, has faced repeated questions about his judgement for selecting Mandelson whose friendship with Epstein was well known.

He sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after new details emerged about the depth of Mandelson's ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges.

UK police are investigating allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson when he was a Labour minister more than 15 years ago. He was arrested and released in February.

Mandelson has not been charged and denies criminal wrongdoing.