ABU DHABI — A drone strike targeted the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, setting an external electrical generator on fire on the perimeter of the facility. The attack did not cause any radiological release or injuries.

The UAE's nuclear regulator said, "All units are operating as normal." The statement did not blame any party for the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the strike. According to UAE authorities, suspicion immediately fell on Iran. Iran had been increasingly threatening the UAE over recent days because the country hosted Israeli Iron Dome missile defenses and troops during the war.

Sunday's strike was the first time the four-reactor Barakah plant has been targeted in the Iran war. The plant is located in the far western deserts of Abu Dhabi near the border with Saudi Arabia. The International Atomic Energy Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Barakah is the first and only commercial nuclear power plant on the Arabian Peninsula. It went online in 2020 and was built by the UAE with the help of South Korea at a cost of $20 billion. The plant can provide a quarter of all the energy needs in the UAE.

During the Iran war, Tehran repeatedly claimed its Bushehr nuclear power plant came under attack, though there was no direct damage to its reactor nor any radiological release. There have been several instances of attacks around the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf countries over the past several weeks.