ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Emirati defense ministry said Tuesday that earlier drone attacks on its nuclear plant were found to have “all originated from Iraqi territory,” stressing that Abu Dhabi reserves its “full right to take all necessary measures” to protect its security and sovereignty.

On Sunday, the UAE said a drone attack hit the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Dhafra region, the Arab world’s only nuclear plant, causing a fire in one of its generators, although radiation levels remained stable.

“Completing the investigations related to the brazen attack on the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant on May 17, 2026, the results of technical tracking and monitoring confirmed that the three drones…were all originating from Iraqi territory,” the defense ministry said.

“The United Arab Emirates reserves its full right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and national security, in accordance with international laws and covenants,” it added. 

According to the ministry, the country intercepted “six hostile drones” that allegedly attempted to target civilian and “vital areas in the country” over the past 48 hours.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Iraqi government reiterated its rejection of attacks targeting countries in the region, especially the recent drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, which were allegedly launched from Iraqi territory.

In a separate statement, Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi stressed "its full commitment to maintaining the distinguished fraternal relations and productive partnership with the sisterly United Arab Emirates."

The Saudi defense ministry on Sunday announced that it had intercepted at least three drones that originated from Iraqi airspace. The incident followed a similar attack on Kuwait the previous month involving two drones launched from Iraqi territory.

Baghdad, however, denied that it had detected any drones launched toward Saudi Arabia. 

During the Iran war against the US and Israel, Tehran and its proxies, mainly in Iraq, targeted regional countries in daily retaliatory drone and missile strikes for being US interests.

While attacks have largely stopped since the ceasefire that was reached between the warring parties on April 8, some have still occurred.