Drone attack sparks fire at nuclear plant in UAE

DUBAI: A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials in Abu Dhabi said on Sunday, at a time when progress appears to have stalled in efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran and restart shipping in the Gulf.Emirati officials said they were probing the source of the strike and that the UAE had the full right to respond to such “terrorist attacks”. The UAE has previously accused Iran of attacking its energy targets in what it has called an escalation of the conflict in the region.The drone hit an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah nuclear power plant, the Abu Dhabi media office said. Radiological safety levels were unaffected and there were no injuries, it said.International Atomic Energy Agency said emergency diesel generators were providing power to the plant’s “unit 3”, and called for “maximum military restraint” near any nuclear power plant, adding that it was following the situation closely. Barakah is the first and the only nuclear power station in the Arab World.The UAE defence ministry said two other drones had been “successfully” dealt with, and that the drones had been launched from the “western border”. It didn’t elaborate. agenciesUAE calls hit on N-reactor unprovoked terrorist attackThe UAE “condemned in the strongest terms the unprovoked terrorist attack” and “will not tolerate any threat to its security and sovereignty under any circumstances”, a foreign ministry statement said. “These attacks constitute a dangerous escalation, an unacceptable act of aggression and a direct threat to the country's security,” it added.During the war that began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb 28, Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases, hitting sites that include civilian and energy infrastructure.The UAE has hosted air defences and personnel from Israel, which sparked the war by attacking Iran with the US on Feb 28. Iranian state television meanwhile aired segments with news anchors holding rifles in an effort to prepare the public for war.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.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 only nuclear power plant in the Arab world and can provide a quarter of the energy needs in the UAE. The UAE’s nuclear regulator said on X the fire didn’t affect plant safety and “all units are operating as normal.” The IAEA, the UN’ nuclear watchdog, said the strike caused a fire in an electrical generator and one reactor was being powered by emergency diesel generators.