Middle East war live: UAE launches probes to determine source of drone attack near nuclear plant
· France 2417/05/2026 - 16:34
UAE says drone that hit nuclear site crossed western border
The UAE's ministry of defence said a drone that hit an electrical generator at a nuclear power station Sunday was one of three that had crossed the country's western border.
"Investigations are underway to determine the source of the attacks," the ministry said in a statement.
"The Ministry of Defence announced that on 17th May 2026, UAE air defence systems intercepted three UAVs that entered the country from the western border direction," it said.
"Two were successfully intercepted while the third struck an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra area."
17/05/2026 - 16:34
Israel strikes Lebanon as Hezbollah calls talks 'dead end'
Israel struck eastern and southern Lebanon, state media reported, despite a fragile ceasefire as Hezbollah called US-brokered talks between the two countries a "dead end".
Two Israeli strikes hit the town of Sohmor in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa valley, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, adding that others took place across southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army later issued an evacuation warning to four villages near the southern coastal city of Sidon, dozens of kilometres from the border area, which were also subject to an evacuation warning on Saturday.
Israeli airstrikes hit three of the four villages following the warning, the NNA said.
17/05/2026 - 16:12
Investigations underway to determine source of drone attack near nuclear plant
The UAE's defense ministry said that investigations were underway to determine the source of a drone attack that hit a generator outside the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi.
The defense ministry said it dealt "successfully" with two drones, while a third one hit a generator near the plant. It said the drones were launched from the "western border", without providing further details.
17/05/2026 - 14:02
One Indian national killed in drone attack in Moscow region
One Indian citizen was killed and three others injured "as a result of a drone attack" in the Moscow region, said the Indian Embassy in Russia.
"Embassy staff traveled to the scene of the incident and visited the victims in the hospital," the embassy said in a post on X.
"The embassy expresses its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and is doing everything possible to provide the necessary assistance to the victims," it added.
17/05/2026 - 13:42
IAEA following the situation at UAE nuclear power plant 'closely'
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed by the UAE that radiation levels at the Barakah nuclear power plant remain normal, the UN's nuclear agency has said.
"The IAEA is following the situation closely and is in constant contact with the UAE authorities, ready to provide assistance if needed," the agency said in a post on X.
17/05/2026 - 13:32
US response to Iran proposal has 'no tangible concessions', Iranian media says
Iranian media on Sunday said the US failed to make any concrete concessions in its response to Iran's proposal for negotiations to end the war.
Fars news agency said Washington gave a five-point list which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the US.
The Mehr news agency meanwhile said: "The United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations."
17/05/2026 - 13:22
Israeli strikes kill four people in Gaza, medics say
Israeli strikes killed at least four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, health officials said.
Medics said an Israeli strike killed one Palestinian near a police post in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it killed a militant who posed an immediate threat to forces operating in an area south of the enclave.
Separately, Gaza medics said another Israeli airstrike killed at least three people at a community kitchen near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza area.
Israel has stepped up attacks in Gaza in the weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US on Iran, redirecting its fire back on the devastated Palestinian territory.
17/05/2026 - 12:50
A drone strike causes fire outside a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE authorities say
A drone strike caused a fire outside a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, authorities in the United Arab Emirates said.
The Abu Dhabi media office said in a statement that the fire broke out in an external electrical generator outside the perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Al Dhafra.
There were no reports of injuries and there's no impact on radiological safety levels, it said.
The UAE’s nuclear regulator said the fire didn’t impact the plant safety. “All units are operating as normal,” the organization wrote on X.
There was no claim of responsibility for the drone strike, and the UAE statement didn’t blame any party for the attack. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sunday’s strike marked the first time the four-reactor Barakah Nuclear Power Plant has been targeted in the Iran war. The reactor sits in the far western deserts of Abu Dhabi, near the border with Saudi Arabia.
17/05/2026 - 11:58
Israel strikes Lebanon while Hezbollah calls talks 'dead end'
Israeli strikes targeted eastern and southern Lebanon on Sunday, state media reported, despite a fragile ceasefire.
Two Israeli strikes hit the town of Sohmor in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa valley, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, adding that others took place across southern Lebanon.
Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce began on April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.
The latest strikes came after envoys from Israel and Lebanon held a third round of negotiations in Washington and agreed to extend the ceasefire.
Nevertheless, fighting has continued, with Israeli strikes and Hezbollah attacks on Israeli forces.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has repeatedly denounced talks with Israel.
"The direct negotiations that the authorities in Lebanon have conducted with the Israeli enemy have... led them down a dead-end path that will result in nothing but one concession after another," Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan said on Sunday.
17/05/2026 - 10:28
- USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier returns home after 326-day deployment
- Iran chief negotiator Ghalibaf appointed to oversee ties with China, media reports
- Israel strikes Lebanon while Hezbollah calls talks 'dead end'
- A drone strike causes fire outside a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE authorities say
17/05/2026 - 10:28
Iran chief negotiator Ghalibaf appointed to oversee ties with China, media reports
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who recently emerged as a chief negotiator in talks with the US, has been appointed to oversee relations with China, Iranian media reported on Sunday.
"Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has recently been appointed as a special representative of the Islamic republic of Iran for China affairs," Tasnim news agency reported, citing "informed sources", with other media carrying similar reports.
It was not immediately clear who appointed Ghalibaf to the role, but Tasnim said he would "coordinate various sectors of relations between Iran and China".
17/05/2026 - 07:25
17/05/2026 - 07:25
USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier returns home after 326-day deployment
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, dispatched to the Middle East ahead of the outbreak of war with Iran, returned home to the US after a 326-day deployment, the Pentagon said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was on hand in Norfolk, Virginia to welcome home the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the US military said on X.
It was the longest deployment for a US carrier strike group since the Vietnam War.
The Ford's deployment saw it take part in US operations in the Caribbean, where Washington's forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, interdicted sanctioned tankers and seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
It was then dispatched to the Middle East to participate in combat operations against Iran.
17/05/2026 - 07:23
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)