Senior officials from the UAE and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have issued a stern warning that military strikes on active nuclear power facilities are entirely unacceptable and set a dangerous precedent for future conflicts. During a recent visit to the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi condemned the deliberate targeting of such infrastructure, emphasizing that these actions brazenly violate international law and established global norms. Grossi noted that the precision behind recent attacks suggests a calculated effort to disrupt critical systems, stressing that any aggression against a nuclear site must never be dismissed as a routine part of modern warfare.

Echoing these concerns, Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the IAEA, highlighted that such provocations pose an extreme threat to public safety and the environment. He argued that nuclear facilities must remain strictly off-limits, as targeting them recklessly shatters long-standing international taboos and endangers regional stability. While Al Kaabi praised the successful mitigation of the recent incident at Barakah, he emphasized that collective international responsibility is essential to ensure that nuclear sites are never used as pawns in military disputes. Ultimately, both officials urged the global community to recognize these incidents as a grave escalation that demands a unified and firm response.