A drone punched through UAE air defenses Sunday and struck a generator at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, the first direct hit on the Arabian Peninsula’s only nuclear facility since fighting with Iran erupted on February 28.
Of the three drones involved, air defenses brought down two. The third reached a generator on the plant’s outer perimeter, ignited a fire, and briefly knocked one reactor onto emergency diesel backup. The UAE Defence Ministry said the drones were launched from the western border and that investigators are working to identify their origin.
The fire stayed outside the plant’s inner perimeter. No one was hurt, and radiation levels held steady throughout.
The UAE nuclear regulator confirmed all four units kept running. “All units are operating as normal,” it said, a reassurance that landed alongside the image of a smoldering generator.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi commented on the matter, stating, “Military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable.” Barakah, built in collaboration with South Korea and brought online in 2020 at a cost of $20 billion, sits 225 km west of Abu Dhabi near the Saudi border. Its four reactors are the only nuclear power generation anywhere on the Arabian Peninsula.
Sunday’s attack landed more than five weeks after a US-Iran ceasefire was announced on April 8. The drones have not stopped. Last week, separate strikes on Fujairah injured three Indian nationals and set an oil facility alight. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called Sunday’s attack a “flagrant violation of international law” and a serious threat to regional security. The UAE Foreign Ministry rejected what it described as Iranian attempts to justify strikes on Emirati territory and reserved the right to respond.
No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s strike.
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