Drone strikes UAE nuclear plant : NPR
FILE – This undated photograph released by the UAE’s official WAM news agency shows the under-construction Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi’s Western Desert.
Arun Girija/Emirates News Agency/via AP
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Arun Girija/Emirates News Agency/via AP
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A drone strike sparked a fire Sunday near the United Arab Emirates’ only nuclear power plant, in what authorities called an “unprovoked terrorist attack.” No one was blamed, but it highlighted the risk of a resumption of war as the United States and Iran signaled they were ready to fight again.
No injuries or radiological releases were reported. The United Arab Emirates, which has hosted Israeli air defenses and personnel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks. Tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway, in the hands of Iran and subject to a US naval blockade.
“For Iran, time is running out, and they better act, FAST, or there will be nothing left,” US President Donald Trump said on social media shortly after a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose attack on Iran along with the United States sparked the war on February 28.
Trump repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran, then backed down.
“Our armed forces are on the trigger, while diplomacy continues,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said on state television.
The ceasefire remains fragile, with diplomatic efforts to achieve a more lasting peace having failed. And fighting has intensified between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, despite a theoretical ceasefire there.
Barakah power plant can supply a quarter of the UAE’s energy
The UAE Defense Ministry said three drones crossed the western border with Saudi Arabia and the other two were intercepted. The aim was to investigate who had launched them. Iran and allied Shiite militias in Iraq launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states during the war.
The attack, “whether carried out by the main actor or through one of his proxies, represents a dangerous escalation,” Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said on social media.
Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and later said it had intercepted three drones that entered from Iraqi airspace.
The $20 billion Barakah nuclear power plant was built by the United Arab Emirates with help from South Korea and was commissioned in 2020. It is the Arab world’s only nuclear power plant and can provide a quarter of the energy needs of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms that is home to Dubai.
The UAE’s nuclear regulator said the fire did not affect the safety of the plant and that “all units were operating normally”. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said the strike caused a fire in an electrical generator and a reactor was powered by emergency diesel generators.
This is the first time that the Barakah power plant, made up of four reactors, has been targeted during the war. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, whom the UAE has fought as part of a Saudi-led coalition, have claimed to have targeted the plant while it was under construction in 2017, which Abu Dhabi has denied.
The UAE’s nuclear program is different from that of Iran and Israel
The UAE signed a strict nuclear power plant deal with the United States, known as the ‘123 deal’, in which it agreed to forgo uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing domestically to ease any proliferation concerns. Its uranium comes from abroad.
This is very different from Iran’s nuclear program, which is at the heart of long-standing tensions with the United States and Israel.
Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, but it has enriched its uranium to near-weapons-grade levels and is widely believed to have had a military component to its program at least until 2003. It has often restricted the work of U.N. inspectors, including since the 12-day war with Israel last year.
Israel is widely considered the only nuclear-armed country in the region, but has neither confirmed nor denied possessing atomic weapons. Iran struck near Israel’s Dimona nuclear power plant during the war.
Nuclear power plants have increasingly been the target of wars in recent years, most notably during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022. During the Iran war, Tehran repeatedly claimed that its Bushehr nuclear plant had been attacked, even though its Russian-run reactor suffered no direct damage or radiological releases.
The ceasefire seems increasingly fragile
Israel is coordinating with the United States for a possible resumption of attacks, said two people familiar with the matter, including an Israeli military officer. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing confidential military preparations.
Speaking to his cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said “our eyes are also open” when it comes to Iran, and “we are ready for any scenario.”
On Iranian state television, presenters from at least two channels appeared armed during live broadcasts.
One of them, Hossein Hosseini, received basic firearms training from a masked member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards. Hosseini mimed shooting the UAE flag.
On another channel, Mobina Nasiri said a weapon was sent to her during a rally in Vanak Square in Tehran. “From this platform, I declare that I am ready to sacrifice my life for this country,” she said.
