A drone strike has sparked a fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as Iran continues to launch sustained attacks on Gulf countries amid the United States-Israeli joint war on its soil more than two weeks ago. The Fujairah government's media office on Tuesday said there were no casualties resulting from the attack on the energy facility, located about 150km (93 miles) east of Dubai.
We can do that on five minutes notice it'll be over, but for purposes of someday rebuilding that country, I guess we did the right thing, but it may not stay that way. The president indicated capability for rapid additional strikes while acknowledging potential long-term consequences for reconstruction efforts.
Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, Tehran has launched a wave of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, US military bases, oil depots and other infrastructure across the Gulf region. Iranian attacks on several vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz have also dramatically reduced traffic in the narrow channel, through which about 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies transit.
In the early morning hours, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority halted flights as a precaution. The Dubai Media Office later confirmed that the situation was "under control" and that the fire had not spread. However, several flights were diverted while emergency teams responded to the incident.
Airspace across several parts of the Middle East continues to be restricted after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting retaliatory attacks and widespread aviation disruption. Gulf states, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, introduced temporary airspace restrictions, while Iran, Israel and Iraq imposed closures or operational limits.
The US military is broadly targeting Iran's naval combat capabilities, expanding strikes beyond just warships to mines, drone boats, and torpedoes, the admiral overseeing the Middle East operations said on Monday. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, reiterated in a video statement that eliminating Iran's naval threats is one of three military objectives of the American strike campaign.
The recent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz show how quickly maritime risk can escalate from geopolitical tension to operational disruption. For shipping operators, the challenge is not only the threat environment itself, but also maintaining reliable situational awareness as navigation signals degrade and vessel activity becomes harder to interpret.
Japan has begun releasing oil from its emergency reserves amid the global energy crisis sparked by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran in response to US-Israeli attacks. The release was announced on Monday in a notice published in the Japanese government's official gazette.
The dominant force in play remains the Middle East conflict, which has kept oil prices elevated and inflation expectations firm. Reports that Washington is assembling a coalition to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz could offer some relief for the oil market and could weigh on the dollar.
Two hundred and fifty-six Quran memorisers—Palestinians who have committed the entire holy book to memory—sat in the place while companions beside them listened attentively, following each word carefully to ensure the recitation remained flawless. The gathering, titled Safwat Al-Huffaz—The Elite of Quran Memorisers, has become a special collective way of observing Ramadan in Gaza.
