UAE Says Drones Were Intercepted; Another Hit a Nuclear Power Facility

The United Arab Emirates said Sunday evening that it intercepted two drones that crossed into the country from the west. In Abu Dhabi, officials reported a fire at a nuclear power station in the Al Dhafra area after a separate drone struck the site. According to the statement, there were no injuries and no concern over any radiation leak from the facility.

The assessment is that the drones were launched by the Houthis in Yemen, acting on Iran’s orders. It is worth noting that, alongside Israel, the UAE has been attacked by Iran more times than any other country. The Emiratis have responded on several occasions by striking oil infrastructure and power stations in Iran.

One of the main targets hit over the past month was a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island. That strike caused a major fire and shut down a significant portion of the facility’s production capacity for months.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that the U.S. had presented Iran with five main demands to move an agreement forward. The terms: no compensation or damages to be paid by the U.S.; the removal and transfer of 400 kilograms of uranium from Iran to the U.S.; operation of only one nuclear site out of Iran’s nuclear facilities; no release of 25% of Iran’s frozen assets; and making a halt in fighting across all arenas conditional on negotiations taking place. According to the report, the U.S. said that even if Iran were to meet these conditions, the threat of an attack by the U.S. and Israel would still remain in effect.

Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on international affairs, responded in a post on X: "Trump’s unsuccessful diplomacy in Beijing, the unease in the Emirates following reports of Netanyahu’s secret visit, and the Pentagon’s narratives represent a broader crisis of strategic miscalculation in Washington. In this context, Trump’s threats, encouraged in Tel Aviv, risk drawing the U.S. into a strategic trap with significant consequences. Washington may soon discover that it will be difficult to maintain its credibility in the Middle East."

In addition, the American media reported that U.S. intelligence officials believe Iran has scattered many mines in the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, no ship traffic has been recorded in the strait since the morning hours, and steps are being taken to verify the report.