U.S. strikes hit near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Thursday as a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire between Washington and Tehran unraveled, marking the fourth confirmed incident since February affecting the facility’s perimeter.
U.S. Central Command said it struck about 90 targets across southern Iran to degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Bushehr provincial official Ehsan Jahanian told Iran’s ISNA news agency that strikes hit the nuclear plant’s perimeter, a military base in nearby Choghadak and a fishing pier elsewhere in the province. Reuters said it could not independently verify the reported damage.
The renewed fighting followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration at the NATO summit in Ankara that the ceasefire was “over,” effectively ending the truce brokered by Pakistan in April.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has previously recorded three security incidents affecting Bushehr’s perimeter – on 17 March, 24 March and 4 April. The April incident killed a member of the plant’s security staff. The agency has reported no increase in radiation levels following any of the incidents.
Iran responded on Thursday with drone and missile attacks targeting U.S.-linked facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, while missiles fired toward a Jordanian air base were intercepted without reported casualties. Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said debris from intercepted munitions injured one person.
Iranian state media said U.S. strikes over the past two days killed 14 people and wounded 78, including eight members of the Iranian Army and one member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Those casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Pakistan, which helped broker the April ceasefire, said it remains prepared to facilitate renewed negotiations. Iran’s foreign minister also held calls with counterparts in Pakistan, Türkiye and Oman, warning against further U.S. “adventurism” and urging renewed diplomatic efforts.
No damage to Bushehr’s reactor or any release of radioactive material has been reported.
