Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, has described the attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant as a “dangerous indicator of the scale of the threat facing the region,” attributing it to Iranian militias operating in Iraq.
In a post on X, Gargash framed the strike as part of a broader pattern of lawlessness, citing the absence of functioning state authority in certain countries alongside what he described as clear violations of international law, including the First Additional Protocol to the 1977 Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council Resolution 487 of 1981.
“The targeting of Barakah is a directed criminal act and a direct violation of international law,” he wrote. He drew a parallel with ongoing threats to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that both incidents reflect the same logic. “From Hormuz to Barakah, the threat transcends the Arabian Gulf to affect the entire international system,” he said, describing it as “a mentality of chaos and blackmail that disregards the security of peoples, international law, or the stability of the global economy.”
The Barakah plant, located in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, is the Arab world’s first operational nuclear power station and supplies roughly a quarter of the UAE’s electricity. UAE officials have said the facility remained safe and operational following the attack, with no casualties or radiological release reported.
