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Drone attack on UAE's Barakah more dangerous than Zaporizhzhia, IAEA chief tells Euronews

Rafael Grossi told Euronews the drone strike on the operating UAE nuclear plant posed greater risks than Zaporizhzhia because its reactors were live at the time of the attack, warning that tonnes of nuclear material could have triggered a radiological accident with "very, very serious consequences".

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/03/drone-attack-on-uaes-barakah-more-dangerous-than-zaporizhzhia-iaea-chief-tells-euronews

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00:01A drone attack on the UAE's Baraka nuclear plant last month was potentially more dangerous
00:08than the situation at Ukraine's Zaporygia facility, according to International Atomic
00:14Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi. Grossi said that it was due to the reactors
00:21being in operation at the time.
00:23Hitting a nuclear power plant is an extremely serious and irresponsible act. You can draw
00:34parallels maybe with what is happening in Zaporygia between Russia and Ukraine. And the difference
00:40there, although it's a very serious situation and the IEA is working there and is a very
00:47delicate problem that we have in our hands. The reactors are in what we call shutdown.
00:54So they are not running, they are not operating. Baraka is operating. So this makes it potentially
01:01even more dangerous.
01:04Grossi added that the attack is among the most significant nuclear safety concerns currently
01:10facing the international community. As UAE Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of the
01:17Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, Hamad Al-Kabi described the attack as a serious escalation
01:24and a violation of international law.
01:26The fact that the plant has been targeted and attacked is an unacceptable and it's a clear
01:34violation of international law. There was no radiation release, there was no failure of any
01:39nuclear systems. Attacking a nuclear power plant is not a scenario you plan for every day
01:47in terms of potential scenarios for nuclear accidents, but it's a reality now.
01:53UAE authorities previously said that they were determined the attack came from Iraq. The incident
01:59will now be discussed at a special session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna. Baraka is
02:06one of the Arab world's first operational nuclear power plant and one of the largest in the world
02:12by output.
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