The drones that targeted the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear power plant all came from Iraq, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, an indication that Iraqi Shiite militias backed by Iran were likely behind the assault.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Tehran and its militia proxies have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states since Israel and the United States began their war against Iran on Feb. 28. In the past, the militias have provided Iran with a way to deflect blame over such attacks.

There were no reported injuries or radioactive leaks at Barakah after the attack, which Emirati officials said hit a generator on the facility’s perimeter.

But at an emergency U.N. Security Council session Tuesday, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog described his agency’s “grave concerns” about the growing trend of targeting operating nuclear plants in the Iran war.

“In case of an attack on the Barakah nuclear power plant, a direct hit, could result in a very high rate of radioactivity to the environment,” said Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief.

The UAE, which has hosted air defenses and personnel from Israel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks even after its ceasefire with the U.S. began April 8.

In Iraq, government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi, without mentioning the Emirati accusations, said that Baghdad “expresses its strong condemnation of the recent drone attacks targeting the UAE.”

“We also emphasize the importance of effective regional and international cooperation to prevent any escalation or harm to the stability of the region, or any targeting of the security and sovereignty of sisterly and friendly nations,” al-Awadi added.

There were three other drones that targeted the country over the last two days, the UAE added, without elaborating on their targets. Saudi Arabia, which had also condemned the nuclear plant attack, later said it had intercepted three drones that had entered the kingdom from Iraqi airspace.

The $20 billion Barakah nuclear power plant was built by the UAE with the help of South Korea and went online in 2020. It is the only nuclear power plant in the Arab world and can provide a quarter of the energy needs in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms.

Earlier Tuesday, a prominent Emirati diplomat elliptically criticized regional countries over the attacks his country has faced.

“The confusion of roles during this treacherous Iranian aggression is baffling, encompassing the Gulf Arab region’s surrounding states,” Anwer Gargash wrote on X. “The victim’s role has merged with that of the mediator, and vice versa, while the friend has turned into a mediator instead of being a steadfast ally and supporter.”

(AP)