The UAE said on Tuesday that a drone strike that caused a fire near the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant on Sunday was launched from Iraqi territory.
The Ministry of Defence said two other drones intercepted by air defence systems on the same day also originated from Iraq.
The ministry said the UAE has dealt with six drones over the past 48 hours, which caused no injuries and had no impact on the safety of key facilities.
It said the UAE reserved its right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty.
The drone strike caused a fire at an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the power plant, in the Al Dhafra region.
No injuries were reported and the attack had no impact on radiological safety levels.
The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation on Sunday confirmed that the fire did not affect the safety of the power plant or the readiness of its essential systems, and that all units were operating as normal.
The UAE announced it had launched an investigation into the source of the strike on the Barakah plant.
Authorities did not name Iran as responsible for firing the drone at the time, although previous statements following air strikes have done so.
The attack on the nuclear plant came on the same day Saudi Arabia reported that its air defences had intercepted and destroyed three drones that entered the kingdom’s airspace from Iraq. The Iraqi government said on Monday that its monitoring systems had not detected any such attack.
There was no immediate response from Iraq to the UAE's statement that the recent drone attacks were launched from its territory.
In a statement issued earlier on Tuesday, the Iraqi government expressed “strong denunciation” of the attacks on the UAE and its keenness to continue a path of “constructive co-operation for everything that serves joint Arab action and the higher interests of both Iraq and the UAE".
In addition to the barrage of missile and drone strikes launched by Iran on the Emirates and other Gulf states since the war broke out on February 28, a group of Iran-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for similar attacks on neighbouring countries after joining the war in solidarity with Tehran.
The new government in Iraq, installed last week with businessman Ali Al Zaidi as Prime Minister, is under increasing pressure from the US to rein in Iran-backed militias in the country, some of whom are part of the state's security apparatus under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Forces.
A conditional ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran on April 8 led to a halt in hostilities for several weeks, but Tehran resumed strikes on the Emirates this month.
Global condemnation
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres led international condemnation of Barakah attack, saying he was deeply alarmed, while leaders from the Middle East and around the world expressed solidarity with the UAE.
It was the first time the nuclear plant, about 280km west of Abu Dhabi city, has been attacked in the regional war. Although no casualties or radiation leaks were reported, the incident has led to warnings about the risks of strikes on nuclear infrastructure.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, described the strike as a “terrorist attack” on a peaceful energy project.
India described it as a “dangerous escalation” and called for immediate restraint and a return to diplomacy. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X that his country “joins the International Atomic Energy Agency in condemning the drone strike near the UAE's Barakah Nuclear Power Plant and calls for restraint and de-escalation in the region”.
Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, also posted on X, describing the attack as an outrageous and unacceptable escalation.
Pakistan, which has been mediating talks between the US and Iran, condemned the attack and pledged its solidarity with the UAE.
