Barakah Drone Strike “Likely” Iranian; Tehran Tries to Blame Riyadh
The Institute for the Study of War’s 17 May Iran update assesses that “likely Iranian or Iranian-backed forces” launched the three drones that targeted Abu Dhabi’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant on Sunday, with two intercepted by UAE air defences and one striking an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter. Iran has previously used a westerly approach to obscure responsibility, as in the 2019 Abqaiq attack on Saudi oil facilities, where drones launched from Iranian territory approached from the west. IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency and Defa Press are now openly attempting to attribute the Sunday strike to Saudi Arabia.
The IAEA confirmed radiation levels at Barakah remain normal, with emergency diesel generators powering Unit 3 while electrical systems are restored, per Director General Rafael Grossi’s call for “maximum military restraint” near nuclear plants. The UAE Foreign Ministry has labelled the attack a “dangerous escalation” and a “flagrant violation of international law, the UN charter, and the principles of humanitarian law”, reserving the right to respond. The National notes that the UAE pointedly did not name Iran in its initial statements, despite doing so for previous strikes — consistent either with a deliberate diplomatic ambiguity or with genuine uncertainty over Houthi or Iraqi-militia involvement. Tehran’s pattern as targeting the UAE specifically to drive a wedge between Abu Dhabi and other Gulf states, in response to growing UAE-US-Israel cooperation.