The United States struck Iran for an eighth consecutive night July 18-19, allegedly in retaliation for the deaths of two US service members in Jordan. The strikes targeted “military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities,” CENTCOM said in a statement. Secretary of “War” Pete Hegseth said of the death of the service members that their “sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
However, strikes against civilian infrastructure appear to be increasing, even if not admitted publicly. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said U.S. forces struck the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant in Khuzestan province. In a statement released July 19, the AEOI said “the terrorist and criminal US regime, whose nature consists of nothing but bullying and lawlessness, carried out an aggressive and brutal act in violation of international laws,” reported WANA. It struck the plant with “a number of projectiles"—a site it called “one of the symbols of the Iranian nation’s dignity and scientific self-sufficiency.” Construction on the plant began in 2022. WANA reported further that the IAEA announced it was reviewing reports of the strike, but did not name any party as responsible for the attack. It noted that the facility did not yet contain any nuclear material as of its last inspection and posed no radiological risk.
This follows reports from July 18 that the U.S. hit a desalination plant in Jask, Iran, cutting off water supplies to 20 villages and 10,000 people, reported Middle East Eye.
