West Asia war: Targeting of UAE’s Barakah nuclear facility ‘dangerous escalation’, says India

India on Monday expressed concern about a drone strike targeting the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear facility, calling it a “dangerous escalation” of tensions in West Asia.

“Such actions are unacceptable and represent a dangerous escalation,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. “We urgently call for restraint and a return to dialogue and diplomacy.”

On Sunday, the attack triggered a fire at the nuclear power plant, which is located around 200 km west of Abu Dhabi, AFP reported.

The Barakah plant is the United Arab Emirates’ largest source of electricity and meets about a quarter of the country’s energy needs.

The authorities had reported no injuries or impact on radiation levels after the incident.

A projectile struck an “electrical generator outside the inner perimeter” of the power plant, the country’s defence ministry had said on Sunday.

The ministry said that the drone was one of three that “entered the country from the western border direction”. The other two had been “successfully intercepted”.

Investigations were underway to determine the source of the attack, the statement added.

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the strike as an “unacceptable act of aggression” and said that it had the right to respond to any hostilities.

On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was deeply alarmed by the incident, saying “attacks to nuclear installations are totally unacceptable, a violation of international law and must be...

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