Drones that struck the Emirates’ only nuclear power plant last week were launched from Iraqi territory, the UAE said on Tuesday, pointing to a significant escalation by Tehran-backed groups in a war that has repeatedly targeted Gulf energy infrastructure.
On Sunday, an unclaimed drone struck an electrical generator near the Gulf’s only nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries or radiation leak. Two other drones had been intercepted.
Barakah is near the borders with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the strike raised fears of consequences across the Gulf.
“As part of the ongoing investigation into the blatant attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant on 17 May 2026, technical tracking and monitoring confirmed that the three drones … all originated from Iraqi territory,” the Emirati defence ministry said.
On Monday, the UAE said that it was investigating what it called “an unprovoked terrorist attack,” stating that the drone that struck near Barakah “entered the country’s territory from the western border direction.” It did not name the possible culprit at the time.
Baghdad ‘expresses strong condemnation’
According to US officials, Tehran-backed militias in Iraq operating under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Forces have struck US military bases in the country more than 600 times since the Iran war began.
The paramilitary groups have repeatedly targeted Gulf states, drawing condemnation from Baghdad which has struggled to rein them in.
Among the most active is Kata’ib Hezbollah — a separate organisation from the Lebanese group of the same name — which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US and has claimed or been linked to the attacks.
Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi, without addressing the Emirati Defence Ministry’s report, issued a statement saying that Baghdad “expresses its strong condemnation of the recent drone attacks targeting the UAE.”
“We also emphasise 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.
Earlier Tuesday, a prominent Emirati diplomat indirectly criticised the more hesitant countries in the broader region 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,” diplomatic advisor to the president of the UAE Anwar 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,” Gargash said.
“In this most perilous phase in modern Gulf history, amid this perfidious aggression, the gray position remains more dangerous than outright inaction.”
Iran’s influence in Iraq expanded dramatically after the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, creating a power vacuum that Tehran filled by funding, arming and training a network of paramilitaries that have since grown into a formidable parallel security structure operating alongside — and often beyond the control of — the Iraqi state.
Tehran has attacked the UAE and other Gulf nations since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, particularly targeting energy and economic infrastructure, but the nuclear site had been off limits until Sunday.
The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is the UAE’s largest source of electricity, producing around a quarter of the national power.
The Tehran regime had set its sights on it, however. In March, Iranian state-run media published a list of energy plants as potential targets, including Barakah.
Additional sources • AP, AFP