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A drone onslaught caused a occurrence extracurricular a atomic powerfulness works successful Abu Dhabi connected Sunday (May 17, 2026), authorities successful the United Arab Emirates said.
The Abu Dhabi media bureau said successful a connection that the occurrence broke retired successful an outer electrical generator extracurricular the perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant successful Al Dhafra.
There were nary reports of injuries and there’s nary interaction connected radiological information levels, it said.
The UAE’s atomic regulator said the occurrence didn’t interaction the works safety. “All units are operating arsenic normal,” the organisation wrote connected X.
There was nary assertion of work for the drone strike, and the UAE connection didn’t blasted immoderate enactment for the attack. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog, did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.
Sunday’s (May 17, 2026) onslaught marked the archetypal clip the four-reactor Barakah Nuclear Power Plant has been targeted successful the Iran war. The reactor sits successful the acold occidental deserts of Abu Dhabi, adjacent the borderline with Saudi Arabia.
The $20 cardinal Barakah atomic powerfulness works was built by the Emirates with the assistance of South Korea and went online successful 2020. It’s the archetypal and lone atomic powerfulness works connected the Arabian Peninsula.
Nuclear powerfulness plants progressively person recovered themselves targeted successful wars successful caller years, archetypal during Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022. During the Iran war, Tehran repeatedly claimed its Bushehr atomic powerfulness works came nether attack, though determination was nary nonstop harm to its Russian-run reactor nor immoderate radiological release.
There person been respective instances of attacks astir the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf countries implicit the past respective weeks. Talks betwixt Iran and the U.S. are astatine a standstill arsenic the shaky ceasefire threatens to illness and extremity the Middle East backmost into unfastened warfare, prolonging the worldwide vigor situation sparked by the conflict.
Iran inactive has a chokehold connected the Strait of Hormuz, a captious waterway wherever a 5th of the world’s lipid passed done earlier the war, and America is blocking Iranian ports.
