Russia Condemns U.S. Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Power Plant

WANA (Jul 20) – Russia has officially condemned a U.S. military strike targeting Iran’s under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant, warning that Washington is framing Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities as a threat to justify acts of aggression.

In a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, spokesperson Maria Zakharova raised serious nuclear safety concerns over the strike.

She noted that the targeted facility operates under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and warned that the attack undermines previous multilateral diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis triggered by U.S. and Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Zakharova emphasized that targeting nuclear installations directly violates international law, UN Security Council resolutions, and IAEA regulations, exposing a contradiction between Washington’s non-proliferation rhetoric and its military actions.

She called on the IAEA to document the incident and provide an impartial assessment, reaffirming the legal right of non-nuclear-weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to develop peaceful nuclear technology without facing foreign attacks. Moscow expects the UN nuclear watchdog to take immediate preventative measures against future strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Separately, the IAEA issued a statement confirming it is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with Iranian authorities regarding the security of the facility.

The agency clarified that the U.S. strikes pose no threat of radiological contamination because the site is in the early stages of construction and contained no radioactive material during the last inspectors’ visit.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated his call for all parties to exercise maximum military restraint near all nuclear-related installations.

The diplomatic fallout follows a Sunday announcement by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), which reported that the Darkhovin plant in southwestern Iran was hit by multiple U.S. projectiles at midnight. The AEOI characterized the strike as an unjustified act of terrorism that violates both international law and Iranian national sovereignty.