An incident of fire broke out after a drone strike near the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, without causing any injuries or a rise in radioactivity, the local government media office in Abu Dhabi announced on Sunday, May 17th.
“Authorities in Abu Dhabi intervened after a fire broke out in an electrical generator located outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah nuclear power plant following a drone strike,” the office said in a statement. “No injuries were reported and there was no impact on the radiological safety levels,” according to the same source that did not specify the origin of the shooting.
“The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) confirmed that the fire had not compromised the plant’s safety or the availability of its essential systems, and that all units were operating normally,” it was also stated.
On the other hand, the International Atomic Energy Agency expressed its “deep concern.”
Constructed by a South Korean consortium led by the energy supplier KEPCO, the Barakah nuclear power plant started operations in 2020. It produces 40 terawatt-hours per year and covers up to 25% of the electricity needs in the UAE, a rich oil-producing country, according to the public operator Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC).
Located over 200 km west of the capital Abu Dhabi, the plant is situated near the borders of neighboring Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It is closer to the Qatari capital Doha than to the major population centers in the UAE.
The UAE was the second country in the region to have a nuclear power plant, after Iran, and the first in the Arab world.
Since the start of the Middle East war triggered by an Israeli-American offensive against the Islamic Republic on February 28th, the UAE has been targeted by more than 2,800 missiles and drones, bearing the brunt of Iranian reprisal salvos among the Gulf monarchies.
The UAE, allies of Washington, are among the few Arab countries to have normalized relations with Israel following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Earlier this month, the UAE blamed the Islamic Republic for a drone strike on an energy facility in Fujairah in the east of the country, a claim that Iran denied.
Iran has repeatedly accused Gulf states of allowing US forces to launch attacks from their territories, and this week tension escalated after reports surfaced of strikes directly carried out by the UAE and Saudi Arabia against Iran during the war.
