US strikes under-construction nuclear plant in southwest Iran

In a statement on Sunday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) condemned the United States' attack on the construction site of the Darkhoveyn nuclear power plant in Khuzestan Province, describing it as an act of terrorism and aggression in breach of international law. The AEOI said the "terrorist and criminal American regime," which is characterized by bullying and lawlessness, launched an aggressive and "barbaric" attack against the site at around 3:39 am local time on Sunday, July 19, 2026. According to the statement, the US struck the under-construction nuclear power plant with several projectiles, targeting "one of the symbols of the Iranian nation's dignity and scientific self-sufficiency."

The latest attack came months after AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami lodged a formal protest with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi over earlier US-Israeli strikes near Unit 1 of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Warning that repeated attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities could endanger reactor safety and trigger radioactive releases with potentially catastrophic regional consequences, Eslami urged the IAEA to explicitly condemn the assaults as violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the agency's statute, and other international legal obligations.

According to Mehr News, the AEOI emphasized that such attacks undermine global nuclear safety and non-proliferation efforts. The report added that Iran reserves the right to respond to these aggressions under international law.