India on Monday expressed deep concern over a drone strike targeting the Barakah nuclear facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), warning that the incident marked a dangerous escalation in the already volatile West Asia conflict amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran.
A day earlier, a drone struck an electrical generator near the perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, the UAE’s only nuclear facility, triggering a fire. Emirati authorities said there were no injuries and that radiological safety levels and plant operations remained unaffected.
"India is deeply concerned at the attack targeting the Barakah nuclear facility in the UAE," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"Such actions are unacceptable and represent a dangerous escalation. We urgently call for restraint and a return to dialogue and diplomacy," it said.
The UAE Ministry of Defence said it was working to determine the source of the drone strike. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the drone hit a generator located outside the inner perimeter of the nuclear facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was closely monitoring the situation.
The incident has heightened fears of a broader regional escalation as diplomatic efforts to revive a truce between Iran, the United States and Israel remain deadlocked.
During the conflict that began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran repeatedly targeted Gulf states hosting American military bases, including the UAE, according to regional officials. Iran had stepped up attacks earlier this month after US President Donald Trump announced a naval mission aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.
More than five weeks after a fragile ceasefire took effect, negotiations remain stalled. Washington has demanded that Tehran dismantle its nuclear programme and reopen maritime routes, while Iran has sought compensation for war damages, an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports and a halt to hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon.
Trump, who recently held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, has warned that military strikes could resume if Iran refuses to agree to a deal.
A senior spokesperson for the Iranian armed forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi, said on Sunday that if Trump's threats were carried out, the US would "face new, aggressive, and surprise scenarios, and sink into a self-made quagmire".
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei accused the US and Israel of attempting to deflect blame for instability in global energy markets following what he described as their "unprovoked military aggression against Iran".
The ongoing disruption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has triggered severe pressure on global oil supplies and energy markets. Iran’s parliament national security committee chief Ebrahim Azizi said Tehran had prepared a new mechanism to regulate maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.
The conflict has also taken a heavy humanitarian toll. Thousands have reportedly been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes in Iran, while fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon has claimed thousands more lives.
Although Israel and Lebanon agreed on Friday to extend a ceasefire by 45 days, clashes have continued despite the temporary truce.