A drone strike near the United Arab Emirates’ only nuclear power plant has underscored the fragility of the Iran war ceasefire and vulnerability of such civilian energy infrastructure.
Barakah is the Middle East’s largest nuclear power plant, located around 280 kilometers (174 miles) west of Abu Dhabi and close to the UAE’s border with Saudi Arabia. The aerial assault didn’t cause any casualties or abnormal radiation, but did trigger the plant’s emergency power supply.The UAE hasn’t named a perpetrator and nobody has claimed responsibility for the strike. However, Anwar Gargash, a senior foreign-policy adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, alluded to Iranian involvement. The attack, “whether perpetrated by the principal or through one of its proxies,” is a “dangerous escalation,” he said. The UAE has been repeatedly targeted by Iran since the US and Israel launched strikes against the Islamic Republic in late February.
How serious was the drone attack?
The UAE’s nuclear safety regulator said that a drone hit an electrical generator at the Barakah plant on the morning of May 17. The strike caused a fire outside the plant’s inner perimeter, which activated emergency diesel generators to supply electricity to one of four reactors.Backup power is one of the last lines of defense to maintain nuclear safety. Nuclear plants need a constant supply of electricity to keep cooling and circulation systems running. Most stations have enough diesel to be able to operate for several weeks if offsite power is lost.Without electricity, the fuel inside a reactor’s core can overheat, potentially resulting in a dangerous release of radiation. That’s what happened in 2011 at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, when a tsunami wiped out the reactors’ backup power generators.While Barakah’s radiation levels are currently normal, if there’s a safety incident that results in a significant release of radiation, the impact would likely spread beyond the UAE. Radioactive particles could be transported by the wind and deposited in neighboring countries or across the Persian Gulf.Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia condemned the May 17 strike. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said the attack was “unacceptable” and urged “maximum military restraint” to avoid a nuclear accident.How significant is the Barakah nuclear power plant?
