Full story
Drone fire near Barakah
A drone strike sparked a fire on the perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi authorities saying the blaze broke out at an electrical generator outside the plant’s inner perimeter in the Al Dhafra region on Sunday.
“All units are operating as normal”
The UAE’s Defence Ministry said air defences dealt “successfully” with two drones while a third one hit a generator near the plant, and it added the drones were launched from the “western border”.
The UAE’s nuclear regulator said operations at the facility were not affected, stating “All units are operating as normal,” and authorities reported no injuries and radiation levels remained normal.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the incident forced one reactor to rely temporarily on emergency diesel generators, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi expressed “grave concern” about the situation.
The plant is located about 225km (140 miles) west of Abu Dhabi, and the incident came as the UAE faced repeated missile and drone attacks since the US and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28.
Condemnations and competing frames
The Jerusalem Post reported that two sources familiar with the strike said it was intended to “send a message” to the Emiratis, with one source saying the drone deliberately targeted an energy supplier to convey: “We can also strike the nuclear reactor itself and trigger a nuclear incident.”
In response, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash wrote on X that the attack “represents a dangerous escalation and a dark development that violates all international laws and norms,” and the UAE Foreign Ministry later described the incident as a “terrorist attack” that “constitutes a “dangerous escalation, an unacceptable act of aggression, and a direct threat to the country’s security.”
France 24 said the UAE condemned the strike as a threat to regional security and reported the Defence Ministry said the drone that targeted the facility was one of three that “entered the country from the western border direction.”
France 24 also reported that the UAE’s foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held calls with counterparts in Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt and Bahrain after the attack, and that the ministers condemned it and reaffirmed the Gulf nation’s “full and legitimate right to respond.”
What happens next
The UAE said it was investigating the source of the drone attack after the fire at the electrical generator, and Abu Dhabi Media Office and the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation said there was no impact on radiological safety levels and that essential systems were operating normally.
“unacceptable act of aggression”
The IAEA said it was following the situation closely and was in constant contact with the UAE authorities, and it added that its head Rafael Grossi expressed “grave concern” while warning that military activity threatening nuclear safety is unacceptable.
UPI reported that the UAE Foreign Ministry described the strike as an “unacceptable act of aggression,” and it quoted the ministry saying the targeting of peaceful nuclear energy facilities was a “flagrant violation of international law, the U.N. charter and the principles of humanitarian law.”
PBS reported that the drone strike was the first time the four-reactor Barakah plant had been targeted in the war, and it said the UAE did not blame anyone for what it described as an “unprovoked terrorist attack.”
The incident also underscored the risk of renewed escalation amid a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, with Al Jazeera noting the ceasefire and the broader context of attacks that continued even after April 8.
