TURKEY PERSPECTIVE

Ankara, May 18, 2026. A drone strike hit the vicinity of the Barakah nuclear facility in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, sparking a fire on the installation's perimeter without causing casualties or radiological leaks. The incident occurs amid extreme tension around the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran continues to pressure, and highlights the fragility of the ceasefire reached with Tehran since February 28.

No organization claimed responsibility for the attack, and the UAE did not designate any responsible party in its official statement. The UAE nuclear regulator quickly assured that "all units are operating normally" and that the facility's safety had not been compromised. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) specified that the strike had damaged an electrical generator, forcing one reactor to switch to backup diesel generators. Its Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, expressed "grave concern" and deemed any military activity threatening nuclear safety "unacceptable."

The Barakah facility, built with South Korean assistance at a cost of 20 billion dollars, entered service in 2020. It is the first and only nuclear plant in the Arab world and covers up to one quarter of the UAE's energy needs. Located approximately 225 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, near the Saudi border, the installation had never been directly targeted since the conflict began.

The Turkish press, notably the Daily Sabah, emphasizes that the UAE has recently accused Iran of multiple drone and missile attacks in a context where Washington maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and diplomatic negotiations have not resulted in lasting peace. US President Donald Trump has publicly mentioned the possibility of a resumption of hostilities, while Iranian state television broadcasts sequences intended to prepare its population for open conflict.

The strike also underscores that nuclear installations are now recurring targets in modern conflicts: precedents have been observed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022, and Iran itself targeted the vicinity of Israel's Dimona site during this conflict. Houthi rebels from Yemen, backed by Tehran, had previously claimed to have targeted Barakah during its construction phase in 2017, a claim then denied by Abu Dhabi.

For Ankara, Gulf stability directly conditions its hydrocarbon imports and commercial relations with Gulf Cooperation Council states. Turkey, which maintains economic ties with both sides, watches with attention the rising tensions around Hormuz, a strategic passage point for approximately 20 percent of the world's oil.