Which Middle East, North Africa countries are ‘nuclear capable’?

An attack on the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant on 17 May, which Emirati authorities blamed on a drone launched by Iraqi armed groups, drew condemnation from the UAE, the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) amid concerns over the risk of a nuclear accident.

The attack is the latest incident in a region with a long history of civilian and military nuclear programmes, where several countries are operating reactors, constructing new facilities or pursuing plans for nuclear energy.

But what is the history of nuclear programmes in the Middle East, and what risks do nuclear facilities face in a region that has experienced repeated wars and military confrontations?

States with nuclear programmes

According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), an organisation that promotes nuclear power, several countries in the Middle East operate civilian nuclear programmes.

The UAE, whose programme dates back to 2006, operates the Barakah nuclear power plant, which generates around a quarter of the country’s electricity. The facility consists of four reactors, and Abu Dhabi is considering adding two more.

Iran also operates the region’s most extensive nuclear programme. Established during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the 1950s, the programme expanded significantly in the 1970s before being disrupted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.

An agreement with Russia in 1992 eventually led to the completion of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, which entered service in 2011 and currently provides around 2% of the country’s electricity. A second reactor is under construction at the site with Russian state nuclear company Rosatom.

Iran also operates several uranium enrichment facilities and a heavy water reactor. Western governments and Israel have long argued that aspects of the programme could support the development of nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies.

Iran’s nuclear activities remain a central source of tension in its relations with the United States and its allies.

Israel is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East possessing nuclear weapons.

The Shimon Peres Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona, reportedly built with French assistance in the late 1950s, is believed to play a central role in Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons programme.

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Israel possesses an estimated 90 nuclear warheads and enough plutonium for significantly more.

The WNA told The New Arab that “in almost every country, military applications of nuclear energy are kept entirely separate from civil applications,”, with IAEA inspections designed to ensure civilian facilities are not diverted for military purposes.

Iran previously allowed broader IAEA access to its facilities, although inspections have become more restricted since 2025.

Meanwhile, Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains a policy of ambiguity regarding its nuclear arsenal.

Egypt and Turkey

While not yet operational, Egypt and Turkey are both constructing nuclear power plants.

Turkey’s desire for nuclear power goes back to 1970, when it chose Akkuyu as the site of its first plant, though it took an agreement with Rosatom in 2009 for construction to finally begin in 2018. The plant is set for completion in 2028, while additional projects are planned in Sinop and Igneada.

Egypt’s ambitions also date back to the mid-20th century, setting up an atomic commission in 1955 and gaining a research reactor in 1961. The country is currently building the four-reactor El-Dabaa nuclear power plant with Russian assistance. Once completed, it is expected to provide around 10% of Egypt’s electricity needs.

Several other countries across the region operate research reactors used for medical treatment, scientific research and agricultural applications.

Countries with former nuclear programmes

Iraq is among several Middle Eastern states that pursued military nuclear programmes.

The country launched its programme in 1956 and later expanded it with Soviet assistance. Iraq maintained elements of its nuclear activities into the 1990s despite Israel’s destruction of the Osirak reactor in a 1981 air strike.

Syria began developing nuclear capabilities in the mid-1970s under former President Hafez al-Assad. A reactor near Deir ez-Zour, widely believed to have been intended for plutonium production, was destroyed by Israel in 2007 before becoming operational.

Libya launched its nuclear programme under Muammar Gaddafi in 1973. After years of suspicion that it had military ambitions, Tripoli agreed in 2003 to inspections by the IAEA and dismantled key parts of the programme. Libya currently operates a research reactor for peaceful purposes.

Countries considering reactors

Saudi Arabia and Jordan are among the countries exploring nuclear power as part of their long-term energy strategies.

Saudi Arabia began examining nuclear energy options alongside other Gulf Cooperation Council states in 2006 before launching its own plans in 2009. The kingdom established the Saudi National Atomic Energy Project in 2017 and a dedicated nuclear development company in 2022, but construction of a nuclear power plant has yet to begin.

Jordan unveiled its nuclear strategy in 2007 and initially planned to build a two-reactor power plant. The proposal was later scaled back, and Amman has since focused on the possibility of developing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are cheaper and quicker to construct than conventional nuclear plants.

Elsewhere in the region, Iraq, Yemen and the Gulf states have at various times explored civilian nuclear programmes, although none have progressed to operational power reactors.

In North Africa, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are also examining nuclear energy as part of their future energy mix.

What are the risks during conflict?

The outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran and a previous 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025 have renewed concerns about the vulnerability of nuclear facilities during armed conflict.

During the latest hostilities, Iran’s nuclear reactor in Bushehr was attacked four times, alongside other facilities in the country, while an Iranian missile struck Dimona, near Israel’s own nuclear reactor.

Linus Höller, an analyst at the Open Nuclear Network, told The New Arab that modern nuclear power plants include multiple safety features designed to prevent disasters similar to the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

These include reinforced containment structures and backup power systems intended to maintain cooling operations during emergencies.

However, certain vulnerabilities remain despite the backups, such as the plant’s cooling systems needed to cool the reactor and spent fuel, the failure of which caused the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011.

“Each backup system buys time, but a sustained or multi-vector attack could exhaust those redundancies,” Höller said. “Only so much can fail before there is a major problem.”

Because of their strategic value, nuclear facilities can become targets during conflicts, whether to disrupt energy supplies, seize nuclear material or exert political pressure.

Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since 2022 has highlighted the risks, with repeated concerns raised over damage caused by military operations.

While international law strongly discourages attacks on nuclear facilities, Höller cautioned that such protections depend on the willingness of warring parties to respect them.

“One can hope that sanity prevails, and sides engaged in war realise that it’s a bad idea to strike nuclear plants, but war isn’t always rational, and neither are all the political and military leaders involved,” he said.