Mystery projectile hits Iran nuclear power complex, highlighting war risks

2026.03.18 09:50 This satellite image from December 7, 2025 shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AP The UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that Iranian authorities had reported projectile impact on the grounds of the country’s only operational nuclear power plant that caused no damage. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “has been informed by Iran that a projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr NPP on Tuesday evening”, the Vienna-based agency posted on social media using an acronym for nuclear power plant. “No damage to the plant or injuries to staff reported”. Agency head Rafael Grossi “reiterates his call for restraint during the conflict to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident”, the statement said. Bushehr is Iran’s only nuclear power station and is located around 760km south of Tehran on the Gulf. Its Russian-designed reactor has been supplying electricity since 2011. A satellite image shows damage at naval facilities in Bushehr, Iran on March 7. Photo: Vantor via Reuters While it remains unclear what the “projectile” was, the incident has raised the specter of a radiological disaster as the Iran war rages into its third week. Russia’s state-run Tass news agency quoted Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev late Tuesday as claiming “a strike hit the area adjacent to the metrology service building located at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site, in close proximity to the operating power unit”. Russian technicians from Rosatom operate the plant, using Russian-made, low-enriched uranium. “There were no casualties among Rosatom State Corporation personnel,” Likhachev said. “The radiation situation at the site is normal.” No other independent expert has seen the damage. Neither Iran nor Russia published images of the damage. The US military’s Central Command, which is in charge of forces launching air strikes across southern Iran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shrapnel from missile interceptions and ot

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