Drone strike sparks fire at UAE nuclear power plant in latest blow to Iran ceasefire
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A drone strike targeted the United Arab Emirates’ only nuclear power plant on Sunday, sparking a fire around it. No injuries or radiological spread were reported, but the following was highlighted: risk of renewed war as iran truce remains weak.
No one immediately claimed responsibility and the UAE did not blame anyone. But accused Iran of launching missiles drone and missile attacks Tensions have been increasing in recent days Strait of Hormuza vital energy The waterway is still in the hands of Iran, which is under a US naval blockade.
UAE hosts air defenses and personnel from IsraelOn February 28, he joined the United States in the attack that sparked the war.
US President Donald Trump suggested hostilities may continue He was expected to meet with the Israeli prime minister on Sunday. Iranian state television broadcast segments in which news anchors were armed with rifles in order to prepare the public for war. Diplomatic efforts towards a more lasting peace have faltered.
Fight also got warm Although there is a nominal ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, tensions are further straining a broader ceasefire.
Barakah plant could provide a quarter of UAE’s energy
The UAE Ministry of Defense said three drones arrived at the western border with Saudi Arabia, while the other two were intercepted. It was being investigated who started these. Iran and Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq have launched repeated drone strikes targeting Gulf Arab states in the war.
The $20 billion Barakah nuclear power plant was built by the UAE with the help of South Korea and was commissioned in 2020. The only nuclear power plant in the Arab world, it can meet a quarter of the energy needs of the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms that is home to Dubai.
The UAE’s nuclear regulator said the fire at X did not affect facility safety and “all units were operating normally.” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later said he spoke to his South Korean counterpart on the phone.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said the attack caused a fire in an electrical generator and a reactor was powered by emergency diesel generators.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed “serious concerns” and said that military activities that threaten nuclear security are unacceptable.
For the first time in the war, the Barakah facility with four reactors was targeted. It is located approximately 225 kilometers (140 mi) west of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, near the border with Saudi Arabia.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, whom the UAE is fighting as part of the Saudi-led coalition, claimed they targeted the facility while it was under construction in 2017, which Abu Dhabi denied.
UAE’s nuclear program differs from Iran and Israel’s
The UAE has signed a strict agreement with the US on the nuclear power plant, known as the “123 agreement”; where it agreed to abandon domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel to ease concerns about nuclear proliferation. Its uranium comes from abroad.
This is very different from this Nuclear program in IranThis is at the center of long-running tensions with the United States and Israel.
Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, but it enriched its uranium to near weapons level and was suspected of having a military component to its program until at least 2003. It has frequently restricted the work of UN inspectors, including since last year’s 12-day war with Israel.
Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed country in the region, but neither confirmed nor denied to have atomic weapons. Iranian Shot down near Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility during the war.
Nuclear power plants have been increasingly targeted in wars in recent years, including Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine starting in 2022. During the Iran war, Tehran repeatedly claimed that the Bushehr nuclear power plant was attacked, but there was no direct damage or any radiological release to the Russian-run reactor.
Ceasefire looks increasingly shaky
Two people familiar with the situation, including an Israeli military official, said Israel was coordinating with the United States on the possibility of a resumption of attacks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they discussed secret military preparations.
Speaking at his cabinet on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “our eyes are also open” when it comes to Iran. He said he planned a conversation with Trump later in the day to discuss the president’s trip to China and “maybe” other things.
“We are ready for any scenario,” Netanyahu said.
Presenters of at least two channels on Iranian state television appeared armed during live programs.
One of them, Hossein Hosseini, received basic firearms training from a masked member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Hosseini pretended to shoot at the UAE flag.
In another channel, Mobina Nasiri said that weapons were sent to him from a meeting in Tehran’s Vanak Square. “From this platform, I declare that I am ready to sacrifice my life for this country,” he said.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.
