Even as the world pushes for a ceasefire in the Middle East, the United States (US) and Israel continued to strike Iran, including its Bushehr nuclear facility, which killed one person, as per Iranian state media on Saturday. This is the fourth such attack on Bushehr, which is located in southern Iran on the Gulf coast, in around two weeks.
“Following the US-Zionist criminal attacks, this Saturday morning, around 8:30 am, a projectile hit the area near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the southwest,” Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said, adding that a security guard lost his life in the strike, but it failed to damage the nuclear facility.
Following the attack, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned that the repeated strikes could lead to radioactive fallout, while pointing out that the West was quite critical of the Russian hostilities near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
“Israel-U.S. have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now. Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran. Attacks on our petrochemicals also convey real objectives,” Araghchi Xed.
IAEA calls for restraint, monitoring situation
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is currently monitoring the situation, with its director general Rafael Mariano Grossi saying that nuclear power plants must never be attacked while adding that auxiliary site buildings may contain vital safety equipment. He also stressed the paramount importance of adhering to the seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict.
The IAEA also noted that there was no increase in radiation after the strike. “Iran also informed the IAEA that one of the site’s physical protection staff members was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments,” it said.
Meanwhile, the strikes at Bushehr comes following President Donald Trump’s warning that the American military may target Iran’s infrastructure, including electric power plants and bridges. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intensifying US strikes and has even said that his country will bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age” if needed.
But the Iranian leadership has remained firmed and warned of retaliation, while vowing to target all US bases in the region.
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