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A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials in Abu Dhabi said on Sunday, at a time when progress appeared to have stalled in efforts to end the US-Israel conflict with Iran and restart shipping in the Gulf.
Emirati officials did not claim responsibility for the attack and there were no immediate claims of responsibility. The UAE has previously accused Iran of attacking its energy targets in what it called an escalation of tensions in the region.
The plane crashed into a power generator outside the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, Abu Dhabi Media Office said. It says the level of radiological safety and operations were not affected and there were no injuries.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is closely monitoring the situation.
During the war that began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 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 escalated its attacks on the UAE earlier this month after US President Donald Trump announced a military operation to try to open the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump suspended 48 hours later.
A diplomatic deadlock
More than five weeks into the truce, demands from the US and Iran remain elusive despite efforts by officials to end the war and reopen the strait, the world’s most important oil and gas shipping lane.
Washington has called on Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program and lift its grip. Iran has demanded compensation for war damages, an end to the US embargo on Iranian ports and a ceasefire on all sides, including Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Trump, who held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week without receiving any indication from China that he would help resolve the dispute, has threatened to strike again if Iran does not accept the deal.
More than 10 weeks into the war and without a clear end, US President Donald Trump says the cessation of hostilities between the US and Iran is based on ‘great support for life.’ Andrew Chang explains why the US strategy to end the conflict – which Trump says will last no more than a month – is falling apart. (Image credits: The Canadian Press, Reuters, Adobe Stock and Getty Images)
Iran’s top military spokesman, Abolfazl Shekarchi, said on Sunday that if Trump’s threats were to be carried out, the US would “face new, aggressive and surprising situations, and die in the chaos it has created for itself.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the US and Israel have tried to blame each other for destabilizing energy markets following their “unacceptable military aggression against Iran.”
Blockade of competitors
The disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history, driving up prices. The US has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.
Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the national security committee of Iran’s parliament, said on Saturday that Tehran has prepared a way to control the traffic on a fixed route that will be launched soon.
Thousands of Iranians were killed in US and Israeli airstrikes. Thousands more have been killed in Lebanon in the war between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Friday to extend a 45-day ceasefire there, although the agreement failed to end the conflict.
