Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), praised the authorities of the UAE for their continued cooperation and the timely and regular sharing of technical information regarding affected nuclear facilities and their respective sites, stressing that immediate engagement with the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre is essential.

Grossi made the remarks in a statement delivered to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, affirming that the agency will continue providing public updates on the impact of the conflict on nuclear sites and the possible health and environmental consequences, while remaining in permanent consultation with governments in the region.

The IAEA chief informed the Security Council that the attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE threatened nuclear safety in the country, confirming that radiation levels at the plant remain normal and that no injuries had been reported.

He explained that a drone strike on Sunday caused a fire in an electrical generator located outside the inner site perimeter of the plant.

Grossi warned that military activities targeting nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities carry undeniable risks, calling for the exercise of maximum restraint.

He also revealed that the IAEA has, since last year, been gathering information and analysing and evaluating emergency preparedness and response capacities, noting that he will soon travel to the Gulf region to continue this important joint work.

The Director-General reiterated that attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes are unacceptable, stressing that nuclear power plants are protected under international humanitarian law.

He called on all parties involved in conflicts to respect the seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security, while warning that military activities against nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities pose serious risks with potentially grave consequences.

GN

The United Arab Emirates has built nearly 50% of a second pipeline that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz, said the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, on Wednesday.

“Right now, too much of the world’s energy still moves through too few chokepoints,” Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said in an interview at the Atlantic Council.

The new pipeline will double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah, a port that sits on the Gulf of Oman just beyond Hormuz. The UAE has accelerated the construction of the project due to the Iran war. The pipeline is expected to become operational in 2027.

Iran has blockaded Hormuz since early March, choking off the oil and gas exports of the UAE and the other Gulf Arab producers. The UAE has redirected some oil exports through an existing pipeline to Fujairah, which has a maximum capacity of 1.8 million barrels per day.

The Hormuz blockade has triggered the most severe energy supply disruption in history, al Jaber said. More than 1 billion barrels of oil have been lost due to the strait’s closure, the CEO said. Nearly 100 million additional barrels are lost every week that Hormuz remains closed, he said.

It will take at least four months to ramp oil flows up to 80% of normal levels even if the conflict ends immediately, Al Jaber said. It will take until the first or second quarter of 2027 for oil flows to fully normalize, he said.

“This is not just an economic problem,” Al Jaber said. “In fact, this sets a dangerous precedent once you accept that a single country can hold the world’s most important waterway hostage.”

Iran blockaded Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel launched a massive wave of airstrikes against it on Feb. 28. Those strikes killed top Iranian leaders including head of state Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Friday that the importance of Hormuz to the global energy market will decline after the Iran war, as Gulf nations build more pipelines to bypass it.

“This is a card you can play once,” Wright said of Iran’s blockade. “There’ll be other routes for energy to get out of the ian Gulf.”

“We will see a decreasing importance from the Strait of Hormuz, but not a decreasing importance of those nations’ energy production and energy supply,” he said.

CNBC

A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the ​United Arab Emirates, officials there said on Sunday, while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Iran must act “fast” after efforts to ‌end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran appeared to have stalled.

Emirati officials said they were investigating the source of the strike and that the UAE had the full right to respond to such “terrorist attacks.” A diplomatic adviser to the UAE president said it represented a dangerous escalation, whether carried out by “the principal perpetrator” or one of its proxies.

The UAE defense ministry said two other drones had been “successfully” dealt with, and that the drones had been launched from the “western ​border.” It did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia said the three drones it intercepted entered from Iraqi airspace and warned that it would take the necessary operational measures to respond to ​any attempt to violate its sovereignty and security.

While hostilities during the Iran conflict have largely been scaled down since a ceasefire came into effect ⁠in April, drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The drone that got through the UAE’s defenses hit an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah ​Nuclear Power Plant, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said. Radiological safety levels were unaffected and there were no injuries, it said. UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation later confirmed that the plant remained safe, ​with no radioactive material released from the strike.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said emergency diesel generators were providing power to the plant’s “unit 3,” and called for “maximum military restraint” near any nuclear power plant, adding that it was following the situation closely.

During the war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host U.S. military bases, hitting sites that include civilian ​and energy infrastructure.

Iran stepped up such attacks on the UAE earlier this month after Trump announced a naval mission to try to open the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump suspended after 48 hours.

DIPLOMATIC ​DEADLOCK

More than five weeks after a tenuous ceasefire in the conflict took effect, U.S. and Iranian demands remain far apart despite diplomatic efforts to end the war and reopen the strait, the world’s most important ‌shipping route for ⁠oil and gas.

Washington has called for Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program and lift its hold on the strait. Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Trump, whose harsh rhetoric has failed to break the stalemate, said in a post on Truth Social: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

Trump is expected to meet top national security advisers ​on Tuesday to discuss options for military action ​regarding Iran, Axios reported.

Trump held talks with Chinese President ⁠Xi Jinping this week without securing an indication from China that it would help resolve the conflict and has previously threatened to resume attacks if Iran does not 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 U.S. would “face new, aggressive, and surprise scenarios, and sink into a self-made quagmire”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the ​U.S. and Israel had ⁠tried to shift the blame for destabilizing energy markets following their “unprovoked military aggression against Iran”.

RIVAL BLOCKADES

The disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history, pushing up prices. The U.S. has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports, and said that as of Sunday it had redirected 81 commercial vessels and disabled four vessels to ensure compliance.

Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian ⁠parliament’s national security ​committee, said on Saturday that Tehran had prepared a mechanism to manage traffic through the strait along a designated ​route that would be unveiled soon.

Thousands of Iranians were killed in the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. Thousands more have been killed in Lebanon in fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Israel and Lebanon agreed on Friday to a 45-day extension ​of a ceasefire there, though the truce has failed to end clashes.

Reuters