Above photo: AA via Getty Images.
The Islamic Republic has escalated its retaliatory drone and missile operations against Israel in the last few days.
An Iranian ballistic missile made direct impact at the ICL Rotem chemical complex in the Negev on 25 March, causing a large blast and the outbreak of a fire near the site.
🇮🇷🇮🇱 Iranian missiles struck very near to the Rotem chemical industrial facilities in the Negev desert in southern Israel, according to reports. pic.twitter.com/vvKP4bE9vx
— The Daily News (@DailyNewsJustIn) March 25, 2026
The facility is located in the Rotem Industrial Zone near Dimona, and houses infrastructure belonging to several industrial and technology companies, including ICL Rotem, which supplies white phosphorous to the US military, according to research compiled by Resistance News Network (RNN).
A massive fire has broken out at the ICL Rotem chemical complex in the Negev (occupied Al-Naqab) following Iran’s missile strike on the area earlier today.
The facility, which mines phosphate rock and produces fertilizers and high-purity phosphoric acid, is located in the… pic.twitter.com/ANfJ9hXCcQ
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 25, 2026
Footage of the missile impact site was geolocated to the facility. Damage to a structure was reported.
Damage to structure in the Rotem Amfert facility, east of DIMONA, Israel
The company produces fertilizer and related chemicals and is located ~8km north-east of the Negev Nuclear Research Center.
31.062424, 35.193562@GeoConfirmed @EpicFuryMap @FaytuksNetwork
geolocated by… pic.twitter.com/bSOl1xtUp9
— acceladealer (@acceladealer) March 25, 2026
DIRECT HIT! 🚨🇮🇷🇮🇱 Footage shows the moment an Iranian missile struck the state-owned “Rotem” military research facility in the Negev. Israel has imposed a STRICT media blackout on the extent of the damage! pic.twitter.com/NubMZVPu8f
— 𝐓𝐌𝐓 (@TMT_arabic) March 25, 2026
“The phosphate extracted from the Rotem site is exported to several ICL facilities in the United States. Most dangerously, ICL is the sole supplier of white phosphorus to the US military, internationally-banned munitions used by the occupation army in Gaza and Lebanon to burn homes, bodies, and agricultural lands,” RNN reported, adding that the “only source of uranium in occupied Palestine is the Dead Sea phosphate ICL has exclusive rights to.”
ICL Group is the largest chemicals company in Israel. It was owned by the Israeli government until the 1990s, and holds exclusive rights to extract Palestinian resources from the Dead Sea until 2030, as the sea’s water levels continue to decline at an alarming pace.
The phosphate extracted at Rotem is exported to several ICL-linked facilities abroad, including in the US. It is a supplier of white phosphorus – used by Israeli forces against civilians in Lebanon and Gaza – to the US military, according to RNN’s research.
The attack comes as part of a recent string of major retaliatory missile operations by the Islamic Republic.
Earlier on Wednesday, an Iranian missile struck the vicinity of the Orot Rabin Power Plant in Hadera.
VIDEO | This morning, an Iranian missile struck the vicinity of the Orot Rabin Power Plant, with early reports indicating power outages in surrounding areas and parts of Tel Aviv.
The Israel Electric Corporation denied any damage, claiming the missile fell in an “open area,”… pic.twitter.com/QAyfZtKjbu
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 25, 2026
An Iranian missile made impact in the northern city of Safad on Tuesday evening, with Al Jazeera reporting heavy Israeli military censorship over the incident. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it hit satellite sites linked to the Israeli army.
Tehran has escalated its massive and unprecedented campaign of retaliatory strikes on Israel and US military assets across the region. It has also closed the Strait of Hormuz to Washington and its allies and has targeted vessels attempting to cross in violation of its warnings.
US military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, and elsewhere in the region have been battered by Iranian drones and missiles.
