The UAE says drones that targeted its Barakah nuclear power plant came from Iraqi territory

May 21, 2026 3oliver

The UAE says drones that targeted its Barakah nuclear power plant came from Iraqi territory

JON GAMBRELL and MICHELLE PRICE

Updated Tue, May 19, 2026 at 2:21 PM UTC

5 min read

FILE – This undated photograph released by the United Arab Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency shows the under-construction Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi’s Western desert. (Arun Girija/Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation/WAM via AP, File)

(Emirates News Agency via AP)

Map showing the location of the Barakah nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates. (AP Digital Embed)

(AP Photo/Will Jarrett)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The drones that targeted the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear power plant all came from Iraq, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, an indication that Iraqi Shiite militias backed by Iran were likely behind the assault.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Tehran and its militia proxies have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states since Israel and the United States began their war against Iran on Feb. 28. In the past, the militias have provided Iran with a way to deflect blame over such attacks.

There were no reported injuries or radioactive leaks at Barakah after the attack, which Emirati officials said hit a generator on the facility’s perimeter.

But at an emergency U.N. Security Council session Tuesday, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog described his agency’s “grave concerns” about the growing trend of targeting operating nuclear plants in the Iran war.

“In case of an attack on the Barakah nuclear power plant, a direct hit, could result in a very high rate of radioactivity to the environment,” said Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief.

The UAE, which has hosted air defenses and personnel from Israel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks even after its ceasefire with the U.S. began April 8.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s willing to give Iran a few days to make progress in peace negotiations before the U.S. resumes military strikes.

Later in the day, the Senate advanced a bill aiming to force Trump to seek congressional approval or withdraw from the war, though it was not clear whether the legislation could gain final passage.

On Monday, Trump had said he was “an hour away from making the decision” to launch a new round of strikes and end the fragile ceasefire before he called off the attack. He has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

Tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway gripped by Iran while its ports remain under a U.S. naval blockade. A maritime data firm reported Tuesday that ship traffic through the strait more than doubled last week, but still remains a fraction of its prewar levels.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said the blockade has stopped 89 commercial vessels since it started in mid-April.

Trump refrains from setting firm deadline for Iran negotiations

Trump didn’t set a firm deadline for Iran on Tuesday, at first saying he was giving Tehran “two or three days.” He then said Iran could have until “maybe early next week.”

He also said “serious negotiations” were underway to end the war. Key sticking points include U.S. insistence that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

There’s also broad disagreement over Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has said he wants to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance said that a failure to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions would lead to other countries pursuing atomic weapons.

“If you have every country in the world scrambling to try to get a nuclear weapon, it would make us all much less safe,” Vance said. “And Iran would really be the first domino.”

In the Cold War era, U.S. policymakers argued that if a country went communist it could cause neighboring nations to fall like dominoes, too, and the “domino theory” led to efforts, including military interventions, to contain the spread of communism.

Iraqi government condemns strikes on UAE

In Iraq, government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi, without mentioning the Emirati accusations, said that Baghdad “expresses its strong condemnation of the recent drone attacks targeting the UAE.”

“We also emphasize the importance of effective regional and international cooperation to prevent any escalation or harm to the stability of the region, or any targeting of the security and sovereignty of sisterly and friendly nations,” al-Awadi added.

There were three other drones that targeted the country over the last two days, the UAE added, without elaborating on their targets. Saudi Arabia, which had also condemned the nuclear plant attack, later said it had intercepted three drones that had entered the kingdom from Iraqi airspace.

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, a federation of seven sheikhdoms.

Earlier Tuesday, a prominent Emirati diplomat elliptically criticized regional countries over the attacks his country has faced.

“The confusion of roles during this treacherous Iranian aggression is baffling, encompassing the Gulf Arab region’s surrounding states,” Anwer Gargash wrote on X. “The victim’s role has merged with that of the mediator, and vice versa, while the friend has turned into a mediator instead of being a steadfast ally and supporter.”

Maritime firm says ship traffic increased last week through the Strait of Hormuz

According to the Lloyd’s List Intelligence maritime data firm, a total of 54 ships transited the strait the week of May 11, more than double the 25 vessels counted the week before.

Traffic through the strait remains a trickle compared to before the war, when 130 or more vessels passed it each day.

Last week’s traffic included 10 China-owned ships after Tehran said it would permit some Chinese vessels to transit, Lloyd’s said Tuesday on X. Two were carrying cooking gas headed for India.

Iran has imposed a murky vetting scheme for vessels trying to leave the Persian Gulf, which in some cases has included demanding payment and excludes US and Israeli vessels.

Iran depends on China as the sole remaining major customer for its heavily sanctioned oil. India is suffering a politically sensitive shortage of cooking gas supplies and has secured passage for some of its ships through diplomatic intervention with Iran.

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Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in New York; Joshua Boak in Washington; David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed to this report.