Oil prices jumped this morning after yesterday’s drone attack on a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates.
The price of Brent crude rose 1.85% to $111.29 a barrel, its highest level since 5 May, when it traded above $109.
The drone attack hit the perimeter of the Barakah facility and caused a fire. Two drones were shot down by the facility’s defense systems, but a third managed to hit an electrical generator.
There have been no reports of injuries or release of radioactive material.
At present, no-one has claimed responsibility, but officials in the UAE called the strikes “terrorist attacks.”
In recent days, the UAE has accused Iran of launching a number of missile and drone attacks against it, as tensions remain high over the US blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas exports normally pass.
The Barakah power plant was constructed with the help of engineers from South Korea, at a cost of $20 billion, and went online in 2020.
It is the only nuclear power plant in the Arab world and provides a full quarter of the energy needs of the UAE.
Uranium for the facility is not domestically enriched, but bought from aboard, as part of a deal struck with the US.
Director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Marian Grossi expressed “grave concern” over the incident, and said any attacks in nuclear infrastructure are unacceptable.
Although today’s strike is the first against the facility during the current war, Yemen’s Houthi rebels—against whom the UAE and its Saudi allies fought a long war—claimed to have targeted the plant while it was under construction in 2017.
The strikes raised the prospect of a return to war and a possible escalation of attacks against regional allies of the US.
On Sunday, President Trump warned the “clock is ticking” for Iran to secure a peace deal.
In a post on Truth Social, the President warned Iran to get moving unless it wants hostilities to resume.
“They better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” he wrote.
“TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”
The President also spoke with Israeli Primer Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel reported.
According to Iranian media, President Trump refused to make “concrete” concessions to the latest proposal from Tehran to end the war.
This could lead to an “impasse in the negotiations,” Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
Iran’s proposals were labelled “totally unacceptable” by President Trump.
BBC News reports, “According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, they included an immediate end to the war on all fronts – a reference to the continued Israeli attacks against Iran-supported Hezbollah in Lebanon – a halt to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, and guarantees of no further attacks on Iran.
“They also reportedly included a demand for compensation for war damage and an emphasis on Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said on Sunday that Washington had set five conditions in response to Tehran’s proposal.
“They reportedly included a demand that Iran keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the US.”
On Friday, President Trump said the Iranian proposal did not go far enough in its nuclear guarantees.
“If they have any nuclear of any form, I don’t read the rest of it,” Trump told reporters.
He said he would be willing to accept a 20-year moratorium on nuclear weapons.
He also said US or Chinese forces could enter Iran to retrieve its “nuclear dust”—enriched uranium that could be further refined to produce weapons-grade material.
