UAE reports drone strike at nuclear power plant
A drone strike has caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials in Abu Dhabi say, as progress stalls on U.S.-Israeli efforts to end the war with Iran and restart shipping in the Gulf.
Emirati officials said they were investigating the source of the attack and that the UAE had the right to respond to such “terrorist attacks”.
The UAE has previously accused Iran of attacking energy targets in what it called an escalation of the conflict in the region.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the drone hit an electric generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
It was stated that radiological safety levels at the UAE’s only nuclear power plant were not affected and there were no injuries.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency said emergency diesel generators were powering “unit 3” of the facility and called for “maximum military restraint” near any nuclear power plant, adding that it was monitoring the situation closely.
The UAE defense ministry said two other drones were “successfully” dealt with and that the drones were launched “from the western border”.
He did not elaborate.
Abdullah bin Zayed held a telephone conversation with @rafaelmgrossi, during which His Highness strongly condemned the unprovoked terrorist attack that resulted in a fire at an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Al. pic.twitter.com/sBB1hvzEQT? OFM (@OFMUAE) May 17, 2026
During the war, which started with the US and Israel attacking Iran on February 28, Iran repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf countries that host US military bases, hitting areas containing civilian and energy infrastructure.
Iran stepped up such attacks on the UAE earlier this month after US President Donald Trump announced that he would launch a naval mission to open the Strait of Hormuz, which the US suspended after 48 hours.
Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said.
Trump suggested hostilities could continue.
More than five weeks after a tenuous ceasefire in the conflict took effect, the demands of the United States and Iran remain vastly different, despite diplomatic efforts to end the war and reopen the strait, the world’s most important oil and gas shipping route.
The USA called on Iran to stop its nuclear program and lift its control over the strait.
Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports, and a halt to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Trump, who held talks this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping without any indication from China that it would help resolve the dispute, has threatened to continue attacks if Iran does not agree to a deal.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said on Sunday that if Trump’s threats are carried out, the United States “will face new, aggressive and surprising scenarios and fall into a swamp of its own creation.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the US and Israel were trying to shift the blame for destabilizing energy markets following their “unprovoked military attacks on Iran”.
with AP
