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STORY: UN / BARAKAH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ATTACK
TRT: 04:02
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 19 MAY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Aerial shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
19 MAY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council, IAEA Chief Mariano Grossi on screen
3. Med shot, United Arab Emirates Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“In case of an attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power plant, a direct hit could result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment. A hit that disabled the line's supplying electrical power to the plant, could increase the likelihood of its reactors cores melting, which could result in a high release of radioactivity. In their worst cases, both scenarios would necessitate protective actions such as evacuations and sheltering of the population, or the need to take stable iodine with a reach extending to distances from a few to several hundred kilometres. Radiation monitoring would need to cover distances of several hundred kilometres, and food restrictions may need to be implemented.”
5. Wide shot, Council, Grossi on screen
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“Military activity on NPPs and other nuclear facilities carry undeniable risks. I would like to commend the authorities of the UAE for providing the IAEA with timely and regular technical information about affected nuclear facilities and their respective sites. Immediate engagement with the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre is of the essence.”
7. Wide shot, Council, Grossi on screen
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“It is clear that the only sustainable path forward to peace, stability and cooperation is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy. The International Atomic Energy Agency, as the international technical institution entrusted with overseeing the peaceful use of nuclear energy, remains a vital forum for this dialogue, especially now.”
9. Wide shot, Council, Grossi on screen
10. Med shot, United States Ambassador Mike Waltz
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Waltz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“The greatest irony here is that as the Iranians recklessly sought to produce nuclear weapons, the US took action to stop it. And now, out of sheer desperation and true recklessness, they are now weaponizing the peaceful nuclear power of a neighbour. This is precisely why the United States has said Iran can never have a nuclear bomb. And today is a reminder of that danger.”
12. Wide shot, Abushahab addressing Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Abushahab, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United Arab Emirates:
“The attack on Barakah constitutes a dangerous escalation in an already volatile regional environment, and seeks to threaten and undermine the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the United Arab Emirates. Threats and attacks of this nature are a red line for the UAE, and we reserve our full and inherent right to protect our territory and population in accordance with international law.”
14. Wide shot, Abushahab addressing Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Abushahab, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United Arab Emirates:
“This brazen attack is not an isolated incident but occurs in a wider regional context in which persistent cross-border attacks by one state and its proxies have pushed the region toward heightened escalation and dangerous confrontation. The region cannot continue to be pulled toward deeper instability by terrorists and extremists threatening civilians, critical infrastructure, international shipping, and now nuclear safety. The Security Council must ensure that such attacks do not continue with impunity.”
16. Wide shot, end of Council meeting
Following a drone strike on an electrical generator near the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, Mariano Grossi, today (19 May) warned that a direct hit on the plant “could result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment.”
Briefing an emergency session of the Security Council following the attack, Grossi said, “a hit that disabled the line's supplying electrical power to the plant, could increase the likelihood of its reactors cores melting, which could result in a high release of radioactivity.”
He said, “in their worst cases, both scenarios would necessitate protective actions such as evacuations and sheltering of the population, or the need to take stable iodine with a reach extending to distances from a few to several hundred kilometres. Radiation monitoring would need to cover distances of several hundred kilometres, and food restrictions may need to be implemented.”
The IAEA Chief stressed that military activity on Nuclear Power Plants and other nuclear facilities “carry undeniable risks,” adding that “immediate engagement with the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre is of the essence.”
He said, “it is clear that the only sustainable path forward to peace, stability and cooperation is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy” and the IAEA “as the international technical institution entrusted with overseeing the peaceful use of nuclear energy, remains a vital forum for this dialogue, especially now.”
United States Ambassador Mike Waltz told the Council that “the greatest irony here is that as the Iranians recklessly sought to produce nuclear weapons, the US took action to stop it. And now, out of sheer desperation and true recklessness, they are now weaponizing the peaceful nuclear power of a neighbour.”
Waltz said, “this is precisely why the United States has said Iran can never have a nuclear bomb. And today is a reminder of that danger.”
For his part, United Arab Emirates Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab told the Council that the attack on Barakah “constitutes a dangerous escalation in an already volatile regional environment, and seeks to threaten and undermine the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the United Arab Emirates.”
Abushahab said, “threats and attacks of this nature are a red line for the UAE, and we reserve our full and inherent right to protect our territory and population in accordance with international law.”
This “brazen attack,” he noted “is not an isolated incident but occurs in a wider regional context in which persistent cross-border attacks by one state and its proxies have pushed the region toward heightened escalation and dangerous confrontation.”
The UAE Ambassador said, “the Security Council must ensure that such attacks do not continue with impunity.”
