The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, met this Tuesday in Abu Dhabi with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Abdulla bin Zayed, and subsequently traveled to the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, which was the target of a drone attack in mid-May.
During the meeting, both officials analyzed the consequences of the recent attacks against civilian infrastructure and targets in Emirati territory, which Abu Dhabi has described as "attacks of unprovoked terrorist attacks by Iran," as well as "their impact on international maritime security, energy supply, and the global economy," according to the head of Emirati diplomacy on his social media.
Among the issues addressed were also offensives originating from Iraqi territory and the attack on the Barakah plant, "which hit an electric generator located outside the inner perimeter of the plant" and caused no casualties, although it did rekindle international concern over the protection of nuclear facilities.
Grossi and Bin Zayed also reviewed "the solid cooperation that the United Arab Emirates and the IAEA have maintained for decades" and explored new avenues to "further strengthen" this collaboration in nuclear security and supervision.
From the vicinity of the plant, the head of the IAEA conveyed "support to the professionals" working at the attacked plant and stressed that the agency "will continue to support nuclear safety in the United Arab Emirates and throughout the region."
In a video released on his social media, Grossi expressed his gratitude to the country's authorities for their "professionalism and swift action" in containing the situation on May 17, when the Barakah plant was hit by drones.
That episode, he added, "demonstrated once again why nuclear facilities must never be attacked and why these are totally unacceptable," reinforcing the IAEA's call to preserve the security of all nuclear infrastructure in contexts of tension and conflict.