Iran’s atomic energy agency says U.S. forces struck the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant site in southwestern Iran, adding a nuclear-infrastructure claim to the latest round of U.S.-Iran escalation.
The claim has not been independently confirmed. The Guardian reported that Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the United States attacked the site in Khuzestan province on Sunday, but added that it had not verified the report and that the U.S. had not commented.
What Iran Says Happened
Turkey Today reported that Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said U.S. forces hit the Darkhovin plant, also known as Karun, with several projectiles at about 3:39 a.m. local time. The site is in Khuzestan, the southwestern province that has now appeared in several reports from the latest strike window.
The agency described the strike as an aggressive act against a peaceful nuclear facility under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. It did not immediately provide details on damage, casualties, or the type of projectiles it says were used.
Anadolu Agency also reported the Iranian claim under the headline that a U.S. attack had targeted a nuclear power plant under construction. That gives the allegation wider English-language pickup, but the central source remains Iran’s nuclear agency.
Why Darkhovin Matters
Darkhovin is not the same story as the earlier Bushehr damage reports. It is a separate under-construction power project in Khuzestan, planned as a 300-megawatt pressurized water reactor. Turkey Today reported that construction began in December 2022 and that the project was expected to take about eight years.
That makes the new claim important even before damage is confirmed. A reported strike on a nuclear power project carries a different diplomatic and legal weight than strikes on coastal surveillance, air-defense, missile, or drone sites. It also gives Tehran a direct argument that the conflict is moving into safeguarded nuclear infrastructure, not only military and maritime targets.
The Wider Strike Context
The report landed during the eighth consecutive night of U.S. attacks on Iran. Al Jazeera, citing its staff along with AP and Reuters reporting, said U.S. Central Command described the latest strikes as an effort to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Al Jazeera reported that Iranian media identified strikes near Sirik in Hormozgan province and on Qeshm Island, while Tasnim also reported a target near Shadegan in Khuzestan. CENTCOM said the strikes targeted Iranian coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites.
The U.S. says the new attacks followed an Iranian ballistic missile and drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one missing, and hospitalized four others. Iran has also said it targeted U.S. military assets in Kuwait in response to repeated U.S. attacks.
What Is Confirmed So Far
The confirmed picture is narrower than Tehran’s accusation: the U.S. has acknowledged new strikes on Iranian military and maritime-linked targets, while Iran’s nuclear agency says one of the affected sites was the Darkhovin nuclear power plant construction site.
Until Washington, the IAEA, satellite imagery, or another independent source confirms damage at Darkhovin, the claim should be treated as an attributed Iranian allegation. Still, the allegation itself is a new escalation point because it shifts attention from Hormuz shipping pressure and regional base attacks toward the nuclear file that has sat at the center of the war from the start.