Iran says under-construction nuclear power plant attacked by US

Tehran: A construction site of the Darkhovin nuclear power plant in southwestern Iran’s Khuzestan province was attacked by US projectiles on Sunday, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) said.

In a statement published on its official website, the AEOI said the attack took place at 3:39 a.m. local time (2409 GMT), calling it “an aggressive and brutal action” that violates Iran’s national sovereignty and international law, Xinhua News Agency reported.

It did not say if there were any casualties or material damage involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday it stopped two “violating” vessels seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an unsafe route.

In a statement published on the IRGC’s official news outlet Sepah News, the navy said four “violating” vessels ignored warnings, turned off their navigation systems, and tried to cause “disruption” in the strait and pass through it through an unsafe route with US support.

It said two of them “had an accident” and were stopped, and the other two were dissuaded from continuing their route.

The navy said the strait is under the full control of its forces, and the sole secure route for transiting the waterway is the one designated by Iran.

No oil, gas, or chemical fertiliser can be transported through the strait without coordination with Iran and its permission, it added.

On Saturday, US Central Command said US forces had completed the eighth round of strikes against “Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites,” with more than 50,000 US troops in the Middle East remaining “highly vigilant.”

Also on Sunday, the Iranian Army announced that its forces struck US bases in Kuwait in retaliation for the “aggressions” against Iran by the United States and the country’s civilian infrastructure, such as bridges.

In statements published on its website, the army said its forces have targeted the Al-Adiri Camp and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in two rounds of drone attacks.

IANS