Delivered By: HE Mohamed Abushahab, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Mr. President,
I thank the Kingdom of Bahrain for requesting this emergency meeting, and I appreciate the swift response by China as President of the Security Council.
I also thank Director General Grossi for his briefing on the heinous attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s role in upholding the global safeguards regime is indispensable.
Mr. President,
The UAE condemns, in the strongest terms, the unlawful, unprovoked terrorist attack targeting the vicinity of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which resulted in a contained fire at an electrical generator located outside the inner perimeter of the facility.
The deliberate targeting of civilian objects is a flagrant violation of international law, and attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes are particularly egregious.
International humanitarian law provides special protections for nuclear facilities because their damage and destruction could have grave consequences: endangering civilian lives, risking radiological contamination, inflicting long-term environmental damage, and disrupting essential services – consequences that extend well beyond national borders.
The attack on Barakah constitutes a dangerous escalation in an already-volatile regional environment, and seeks to threaten and undermine the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the United Arab Emirates.
Threats and attacks of this nature are a red line for the UAE; and we reserve our full and inherent right to protect our territory and population, in accordance with international law.
Mr. President.
I take this opportunity to underline the strength of the safety and security systems in place at Barakah. The plant was designed, licensed – and is operated – in accordance with the highest international standards of nuclear safety, security, and safeguards. Its multiple layers of protection are intended to ensure the safe and secure production of clean electricity under a wide range of conditions.
In this attack, there were no injuries, nor was there radiological release. The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant remains safe, stable, and operational, supplying up to twenty-five percent of the UAE’s clean electricity. This plant produces more than forty terawatt-hours of energy annually – powering our homes, hospitals, and industries.
However, the absence of catastrophic consequences should not diminish the gravity of this attack.
The UAE underscores the importance of the IAEA’s Seven Indispensable Pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during armed conflict, and, in particular, the principle that the physical integrity of nuclear facilities must be preserved at all times and must never be jeopardized.
Mr. President,
My government has confirmed that the drone attacks targeting civilian and critical infrastructure over the past 48 hours, including on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, originated from Iraqi territory.
This brazen attack is not an isolated incident but occurs in a wider regional context in which persistent cross-border attacks by one state and its proxies have pushed the region toward heightened escalation and dangerous confrontation.
The region cannot continue to be pulled toward deeper instability by terrorists and extremists, threatening civilians, critical infrastructure, international shipping, and now nuclear safety.
The Security Council must ensure that such attacks do not continue with impunity. Failure to act would risk normalizing such attacks and eroding the very principles this Council is entrusted to uphold.
An attack directed at, or in the vicinity of, a peaceful civilian nuclear facility demands a clear, united, and consequential response from this Council.
Mr. President,
The United Arab Emirates reiterates that peaceful nuclear facilities must never become targets of attack under any circumstances. Protecting such facilities is a shared international responsibility, essential to preserving nuclear safety, security, and confidence in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
I thank you, Mr. President.