Iran reports US attack near planned nuclear power plant

Darkhovin – 19 July 2026: Iran has accused the United States of attacking a site near the planned Darkhovin nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest. According to Iranian reports, the Revolutionary Guards said the United States had struck a nuclear facility under construction. There was initially no independent confirmation of a hit on a nuclear installation. Based on the information known so far, the US side confirmed attacks on military structures of the Revolutionary Guards.

According to information from the Associated Press, the Darkhovin project was most recently still in an early stage of construction. Satellite images from 9 July reportedly showed primarily prepared land and only limited construction activity. It therefore remains unclear which part of the site was allegedly affected according to Iran and whether nuclear infrastructure there was damaged.

The new escalation follows a series of reciprocal attacks between Washington and Tehran. The US military justified its latest operations as retaliation for the killing of American soldiers in Jordan. According to US accounts, the attacks targeted Revolutionary Guards capabilities used to control the Strait of Hormuz and to attack shipping.

The Revolutionary Guards also reported that they had stopped several ships seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Initially, there were no independently verifiable details regarding the ships affected, their flag states, the duration of their detention, or possible injuries to crew members. The vital strait between Iran and Oman connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is a key route for energy and goods shipments.

The US Maritime Administration, MARAD, continues to warn that Iran threatens or attacks merchant ships in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. Shipping companies and crews are being urged to exercise increased caution there. According to industry representatives, the security situation is making transit more difficult and increasing risks for insurance, freight traffic and energy exports.

Every military incident at or near nuclear sites raises particular concern. The International Atomic Energy Agency had already warned in March about the consequences of a projectile strike on the operating Bushehr nuclear power plant. Darkhovin must be distinguished from this: according to the latest available image assessments, the project is not considered an operational power plant.

The accounts from Tehran and Washington therefore paint differing pictures of the incident. What is certain so far is only that the military confrontation intensified further on 19 July and once again worsened the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Whether the Darkhovin site was directly hit and what damage occurred must be clarified through independent investigations.