In a report published by The New Arab, journalist Oliver Mizzi, writing from London, mapped the expanding nuclear landscape of the Middle East and North Africa — and examined the growing dangers those facilities face as armed conflict spreads across the region.
The report was prompted by a drone strike on the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant on 17 May, blamed by Emirati authorities on Iraqi armed groups, which drew urgent condemnation from the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
Active Programmes
The UAE operates the most advanced civilian nuclear programme among Arab states. Its Barakah plant, which came online after a programme launched in 2006, now generates roughly a quarter of the country's electricity across four reactors, with plans for two more under consideration.
Iran runs the region's most extensive nuclear programme, rooted in the 1950s and revived after post-revolutionary disruptions with Russian assistance. Its Bushehr plant has been operational since 2011, while a second reactor is under construction with Rosatom. Tehran also operates uranium enrichment facilities and a heavy water reactor — capabilities that Western governments and Israel argue could support weapons development, a claim Iran denies.
Israel, meanwhile, is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East that already possesses nuclear weapons, estimated at around 90 warheads. It is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains deliberate ambiguity about its arsenal, centred on the Dimona facility built with French assistance in the late 1950s.
Under Construction And Conflict Risk
Egypt and Turkey are both building nuclear power plants with Russian state company Rosatom. Turkey's Akkuyu plant is set for completion in 2028, while Egypt's four-reactor El-Dabaa facility, once complete, is expected to supply around 10% of the country's electricity.
The US-Israel war on Iran has brought the vulnerability of nuclear facilities into sharp focus. Iran's Bushehr plant was struck four times during the current hostilities, while an Iranian missile hit the area near Dimona in Israel.
Linus Hoeller, an analyst at the Open Nuclear Network, told The New Arab that modern plants include reinforced containment structures and backup cooling systems designed to prevent Chernobyl-style disasters — but warned that sustained or multi-vector attacks could overwhelm those safeguards. "Each backup system buys time, but only so much can fail before there is a major problem," he said.
Hoeller also cautioned that while international law strongly discourages attacks on nuclear facilities, such protections are only as strong as the willingness of warring parties to observe them. "War isn't always rational, and neither are all the political and military leaders involved," he said.
With Saudi Arabia and Jordan exploring nuclear energy and North African states including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia also examining atomic options, the region's reliance on nuclear infrastructure is only set to grow — raising the stakes of every new escalation.
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