Iranian air defense batteries around the Bushehr nuclear facility were activated Wednesday afternoon after radar operators detected what officials described as "unidentified hostile aircraft" approaching from the south, according to a statement carried by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
IRNA reported that the aircraft turned away before entering Iranian airspace and that no munitions were fired. The incident lasted approximately 12 minutes, during which air defenses at the facility were placed at their highest readiness level.
A spokesman for Iran's Passive Defense Organization, Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, characterized the overflight as a "deliberate provocation by foreign forces" and said Tehran had filed a formal protest with the United Nations Security Council. The statement did not identify which country's aircraft were involved.
The Bushehr facility, located on Iran's Gulf coast approximately 180 kilometers southwest of Shiraz, is Iran's only operational nuclear power plant. The reactor, built with Russian assistance, began commercial operation in 2013 and is monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
U.S. Central Command declined to comment on the incident. A spokesman for the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it was aware of the reports but had no additional information.
The incident adds another flashpoint to a region already on edge. Bushehr sits roughly 300 kilometers across the Gulf from the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group's current position, placing two of the most sensitive military assets in the theater within striking distance of each other.