The United States has said it is looking into a "very disturbing" report that implicates a US-based Venezuelan diplomat in an alleged Iranian plot to launch cyber attacks against US nuclear plants.

Livia Antonieta Acosta, currently Venezuela's consul in Miami, Florida, is described in a report by New York-based Hispanic television network Univision as an accomplice in the plot.

"We did see the Univision report and are cognizant of the allegations they've made," State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters yesterday, describing the allegations as "very disturbing."

Toner added: "We don't have any information at this point to corroborate it... We're looking into it and continue to assess what additional actions we might take."

Univision said that Acosta, during her service as second secretary at the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico in 2007, participated in the alleged plot to target sensitive US national security facilities, including nuclear power plants.

"We obviously take Iranian activity in the hemisphere seriously. We monitor its activities closely," Toner said.

In October, the United States, already gripped in a showdown with Iran over its refusal to come clean on its nuclear program, accused the Islamic Republic of a plot aimed at assassinating the Saudi ambassador in Washington.