Iran: US Violating Int’l Law after Strike on Nuclear Plant

By Staff, Agencies 

Iran’s nuclear energy watchdog condemned the United States for bombing the construction site of the Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant.

In a statement, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [AEOI] said the US had targeted a symbol of the Iranian nation’s dignity and its efforts to achieve self-reliance.

“The terrorist and criminal US regime, whose nature is nothing but bullying and lawlessness, carried out an aggressive and barbaric act in violation of international law,” the organization said in a statement.

The power plant is located in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. Construction of the current reactor began in 2022 at a site on the Karun River, about 70km south of Ahvaz and roughly 100km north of the Gulf.

The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] said it was looking into reports of the overnight attack. 

“The facility is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA,” the UN agency said, adding that the attack is not believed to pose any radiological risk. 

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated a call for “military restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites”.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian officials said Iran had withdrawn from a memorandum of understanding with the Trump administration after the US resumed its bombardment of the country.

Iran and the US have intensified their attacks since an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago fell apart last week, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.

"The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night," Centcom said in a statement.

Centcom later said it had completed its wave of attacks, targeting Iranian coastal surveillance and air defense facilities.

Iran's Mehr News Agency said the US carried out an attack near Sirik in southern Iran, adding that no casualties or damage to infrastructure have been reported.