The $20 billion Barakah nuclear power plant was built by the UAE with the help of South Korea and went online in 2020. It’s the first and only nuclear power plant on the Arabian Peninsula and can provide a quarter of all the energy needs in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms. It’s also the first commercial nuclear power plant in the Arab world.
The UAE’s nuclear regulator said the fire didn’t impact the plant safety. “All units are operating as normal,” the organization wrote on X. The UAE statement didn’t blame any party for the attack. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sunday’s strike marked the first time the four-reactor Barakah plant has been targeted in the Iran war. The plant sits in the far western deserts of Abu Dhabi, near the border with Saudi Arabia. The UAE signed a strict deal with the U.S. over the power plant, known as a “123 agreement,” in which it agreed to give up domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel to halt any proliferation fears. Its uranium comes from abroad.
