United States military strikes hit the perimeter of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Thursday, according to Iranian provincial officials, marking the most sensitive target reported in a two-day escalation that has unravelled a short-lived ceasefire. The deputy governor of Bushehr province, Ehsan Jahanian, told state media that several locations were struck around noon local time, including the plant’s perimeter, a military base in Choghadak, and a fishing pier. The US military did not confirm daytime operations, but its Central Command had earlier stated that overnight strikes destroyed 90 Iranian military targets—air defences, coastal surveillance, missile and drone storage, and naval infrastructure—aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Viewed from Washington, the renewed offensive follows President Donald Trump’s declaration at the NATO summit in Ankara that the June memorandum of understanding with Iran was void, calling further negotiations “a waste of time.” The White House asserts that Iran attacked civilian vessels in the strategic waterway, a claim Tehran denies. On his return flight, Trump told reporters that Iranian leaders had called seeking a deal, but Iran’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the US strikes as a violation of the ceasefire and vowing that “violations, intimidation and baseness” would not sway national interests. Iranian forces retaliated by striking American bases in Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait, according to Iranian state media.

The proximity of the strikes to the Russian-built Bushehr facility—Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant—has drawn warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which in April cautioned that attacks near the plant “pose a very real danger to nuclear safety.” Iranian officials said the plant itself was undamaged and radiation levels remained normal. The escalation also included a US cruise-missile strike on the Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge in northeastern Iran, a trade link to Russia and China, according to Iranian reports. Global oil markets reacted sharply, with Brent crude surging more than 7% to above $79 a barrel on fears of a prolonged disruption to Hormuz transit, while equity indices in Europe, Asia, and Brazil fell.

The collapse of the ceasefire, brokered with Pakistani, Omani, and Qatari mediation, returns the conflict to the pattern of direct exchanges that characterised the 2025 war, during which US and Israeli strikes had already targeted Iranian nuclear sites. Iran’s health ministry reported 14 dead and 78 wounded in the latest US attacks across five provinces. The military operations unfolded as Iran concluded week-long funeral rites for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose burial was delayed by crowds in Iraq. No new diplomatic channel has been announced, and the US has not confirmed the Bushehr strike, leaving the dossier in a state of open hostilities with no immediate off-ramp.