Dubai: A drone strike targeted the United Arab Emirates’ sole nuclear power plant on Sunday, sparking a fire on its perimeter. There were no reports of injuries or radiological release, but it highlighted the risk of renewed war as the Iran ceasefire remains tenuous.
No one claimed responsibility, and the UAE did not blame anyone for what it said was an “unprovoked terrorist attack.” It has recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks as tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway gripped by Iran, which is under a US naval blockade.
The UAE has hosted air defences and personnel from Israel, which sparked the war by attacking Iran with the US on February 28. US President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said.
“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump posted on social media shortly after the call.
Iranian state television meanwhile aired segments with news anchors holding rifles in an effort to prepare the public for war. Diplomatic efforts for a more durable peace have faltered, and fighting has heated up between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon despite a nominal ceasefire there.
The UAE Defence Ministry said three drones came over its western border with Saudi Arabia, with the other two intercepted. It was investigating who launched them. Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states in the war.
The USD 20 billion Barakah nuclear power plant was built by the UAE with the help of South Korea and went online in 2020. It is the only nuclear power plant in the Arab world and can provide a quarter of the energy needs in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms that is home to Dubai.
The UAE’s nuclear regulator said on X the fire didn’t affect plant safety and “all units are operating as normal.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, later said he spoke by phone with his South Korean counterpart.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said the strike caused a fire in an electrical generator and one reactor was being powered by emergency diesel generators.
IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed “grave concern,” the agency said in a statement, and later spoke with the UAE’s foreign minister.
It’s the first time the four-reactor Barakah plant has been targeted in the war.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, whom the UAE has battled as part of a Saudi-led coalition, claimed to have targeted the plant while it was under construction in 2017, which Abu Dhabi denied.
The UAE signed a strict deal with the US over the nuclear power plant, known as a “123 agreement,” in which it agreed to forego domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel to ease any proliferation concerns. Its uranium comes from abroad.
That’s very different from the nuclear programme in Iran that is at the heart of long-running tensions with the United States and Israel.
Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes, but it has enriched its uranium close to weapons-grade levels and is widely suspected of having had a military component to its programme until at least 2003. It has often restricted the work of UN inspectors, including since the 12-day war with Israel last year.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed country in the region, but has neither confirmed nor denied having atomic weapons. Iran struck near Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility during the war.
Nuclear plants have increasingly been targeted in wars in recent years, including during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022. During the Iran war, Tehran repeatedly claimed its Bushehr nuclear power plant came under attack, though there was no direct damage to its Russian-run reactor or any radiological release.
Israel is coordinating with the US about a possible resumption of attacks, said two people familiar with the situation, 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 prepared for any scenario.”
On Iranian state TV, presenters on at least two channels appeared armed during live programmes.
One of them, Hossein Hosseini, received basic firearms training from a masked member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Hosseini mimed firing a shot at the flag of the UAE.
On another channel, Mobina Nasiri said a weapon had been sent to her from a gathering in Tehran’s Vanak Square. “From this platform, I declare that I am ready to sacrifice my life for this country,” she said.
