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 immediately claimed responsibility, and the UAE did not blame anyone. It has however accused Iran of launching multiple drone and missile attacks in recent days as tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway that Iran still has in a chokehold.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said that the clock is ticking for Iran, calling it to “better get moving”.
In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump said, “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone in a call lasting more than half an hour, Al Jazeera reports, citing Israeli broadcaster Kan.
The two leaders discussed the possibility of renewed fighting with Iran, while Trump also briefed Netanyahu on his recent visit to China, the report said.
The United States is blockading Iranian ports and diplomatic efforts aimed at a more durable peace have repeatedly faltered. The UAE has meanwhile hosted air defenses and personnel from Israel, which joined the US in the Feb. 28 attack that sparked the war.
Trump has suggested hostilities could resume, and Iranian state television has repeatedly aired segments with anchors holding Kalashnikov-style rifles in an effort to prepare the public for war. Fighting has also heated up between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon despite a nominal ceasefire there, further straining the wider truce.
The $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 first and only nuclear power plant in the Arab world and can provide a quarter of all the energy needs in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms.
The UAE´s nuclear regulator said the fire didn´t affect plant safety. “All units are operating as normal,” the organization wrote on X.
The UAE statement didn´t blame any party for the attack. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations´ nuclear watchdog, said the strike caused a fire in an electrical generator and that one reactor was being powered by emergency diesel generators.
IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed “grave concern” about the incident and said military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable, the agency said in a statement.
Sunday´s strike marked the first time the four-reactor Barakah plant has been targeted in the war. It is near the border with Saudi Arabia, some 225 kilometers (140 miles) west of the UAE’s capital city, Abu Dhabi.