Iranian state media says a U.S. projectile hit the perimeter area of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday, adding a dangerous new layer to the renewed U.S.-Iran exchange in the Gulf.
CBS News, citing Iran’s IRNA state news agency, reported that a deputy governor of Bushehr Province said the area around the nuclear plant was among several sites hit during continuing U.S. attacks. The same official said the Choghaddak military base and a fishing pier in Asaluyeh were also targeted, with local fishing boats catching fire.
The report did not describe damage to the nuclear facility itself, and Iranian officials said no casualties had been reported so far from the Bushehr-area strikes. The claim has not been independently verified, and there was no immediate U.S. comment on the specific allegation that the plant perimeter was hit.
The Guardian separately reported that Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency described attacks in several locations in Bushehr Province, including near the nuclear power plant and at a fishing port in Asaluyeh. Mehr quoted a local official as saying more details would be released after authorities assessed damage at the sites.
Why Bushehr changes the risk picture
Bushehr matters because it is Iran’s only commercial nuclear power plant and sits on the country’s southern coast, close to the maritime lanes now driving the crisis. Even a reported strike near the facility’s perimeter is likely to raise questions about escalation control, nuclear safety and whether both sides can keep the conflict focused on military and maritime targets.
The new Bushehr claim came after the United States said its latest strike wave hit roughly 90 Iranian military targets. Reuters reported that the U.S. military said those targets included air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.
Reuters also reported that Iranian forces responded by targeting U.S. military infrastructure in neighboring Gulf states. Iran said it had hit Patriot systems in Kuwait, an early-warning site in Qatar and U.S. fuel storage in Bahrain. Kuwait said its forces engaged a cruise missile, three ballistic missiles and 10 drones in its airspace, with one person injured by falling shrapnel.
President Donald Trump has said the latest U.S. strikes were retaliation for attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz. CBS reported that Iran’s Health Ministry said U.S. strikes over the past two days had killed at least 14 people and wounded 78 across southern Iran.
Hormuz remains the center of the crisis
The Strait of Hormuz remains the core flashpoint because it carries a major share of global oil flows. UN News reported that renewed attacks on shipping prompted another global energy alert, with the International Maritime Organization calling for “maximum restraint and de-escalation.” The IMO said reckless attacks had placed innocent seafarers in grave danger.
The United Nations also said roughly 6,000 seafarers remained stranded on hundreds of vessels in the channel, where traffic has been sharply reduced. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for the region, international security and the global economy.
For now, the Bushehr report should be treated carefully: it is an Iranian state-media claim about a strike near a nuclear site, not confirmed evidence of damage to the plant. But the timing is serious. The conflict has already moved from tanker attacks to U.S. strike waves and Iranian attacks on Gulf-based U.S. infrastructure. A verified strike near Bushehr would make the next round of statements from Washington, Tehran and nuclear-safety authorities especially important.