Drone strike hits UAE nuclear power plant
A drone strike has targeted the United Arab Emirates’ sole nuclear power plant, while Saudi Arabia intercepted three drones overnight.
A drone strike has caused a fire at a nuclear âpower plant in the United Arab Emirates, while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones, as US President Donald Trump warned Iran must act âfastâ after efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran âappeared to have stalled.
Emirati officials on Sunday said they were investigating the source of the strike and that the UAE had the full right to respond to such âterrorist attacksâ.
A diplomatic adviser to the UAE president said it represented a dangerous âescalation, whether carried out by âthe principal perpetratorâ or one of its proxies.
The UAE defence ministry said two other drones had been âsuccessfullyâ dealt with, and that the drones had been launched from the âwestern border.â It did not elaborate.
Saudi Arabia said the three drones it intercepted entered from Iraqi airspace and warned that it would take the necessary operational measures to respond to any attempt to violate its sovereignty and security.
The drone that got through the USEâs defences hit an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
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Radiological safety levels were unaffected and there were no injuries, it said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said emergency diesel generators were providing power to the UAE plantâs âunit 3,â and called for âmaximum military restraintâ near any nuclear âpower plant, adding that it âwas following the situation closely.
During the war that began with United States and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases, hitting sites that include civilian and energy infrastructure.
Iran stepped up such attacks on the UAE earlier in May after Trump announced a naval mission to try to open the Strait of Hormuz, which the United States suspended after 48 hours.
Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Netanyahuâs office said.
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Trump said on Truth âSocial: âFor Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there wonât be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!â
He is expected to meet âtop national security advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for military action regarding Iran, Axios reported.
More than five weeks after a tenuous ceasefire in the conflict took â effect, US and Iranian demands remain far apart despite diplomatic efforts to end the war âand reopen the strait, the âworldâs most important shipping route for oil and gas.
The US has called for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program and lift its hold on the strait.
Iran has âdemanded compensation for war âdamage, an end to a US blockade of Iranian ports and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-aligned Hezbollah.
Trump, who âheld talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week without securing an indication from China that it would help resolve the conflict, has threatened to resume attacks if Iran does not agree to a deal.
A senior spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi, said on Sunday that if Trumpâs threats were carried out, âthe âUS would âface new, aggressive, and surprise scenarios, and sink into a self-made âquagmireâ.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the US and Israel had tried to âshift the blame for destabilising energy markets following their âunprovoked military aggression against Iranâ.
-with AP
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