DUBAI – Thick black smoke curled into sky over the port city of Fujairah as flames tore through one of UAE’s largest oil storage facilities after a sudden drone strike. Within minutes, dramatic footage began circulating online, showing the blaze spreading across the complex that serves as a crucial energy hub along the Gulf of Oman.
The strike hit a major oil storage complex in the strategic port city along the Gulf of Oman as the facility plays a vital role in global energy logistics, serving as a key refueling hub for ships and allowing tankers to bypass the volatile Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway now effectively closed amid a spiraling conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the US.
Videos spreading rapidly online showed dense smoke pouring from the Fujairah oil complex—an essential site for maritime fuel supply and oil storage. The attack came shortly after Iran’s armed forces warned civilians near ports in the United Arab Emirates to keep away from potential targets, raising alarm about further strikes on regional infrastructure.
The turmoil is not limited to the Gulf. In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes hit a city, igniting a blaze in a residential building and sending residents scrambling for safety.
Inside Israel, residential areas have also come under fire. A building in a central district was reportedly destroyed after an overnight strike. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it detected Iranian missiles heading toward Israeli territory, fueling fears that the conflict is rapidly escalating into a regional war.
US Bombs Iran’s Economic Lifeline
The latest wave of violence comes after US President Donald Trump announced that American forces launched a powerful bombing raid on Kharg Island, a crucial Iranian island that hosts the country’s main oil export terminal. Trump said US Central Command had carried out “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East,” claiming military targets on the island were “totally obliterated.” However, he emphasized that the US deliberately avoided striking the island’s oil infrastructure.
The president warned that the decision could change if Iran interferes with international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
Despite its small size, Kharg Island is considered the backbone of Iran’s oil economy. Located about 24 kilometers from Iran’s southern coast, the rocky island handles nearly 90% of the country’s crude oil exports. Oil is transported from the mainland through pipelines and loaded onto massive tankers capable of carrying up to 85 million gallons of crude. These ships then travel through the Strait of Hormuz, often heading to China, one of the largest buyers of Iranian oil.
Iranian state media claimed the oil facilities on Kharg Island were not damaged. According to Iranian reports, the US strikes targeted air defense systems, a naval base, an airport control tower, and a helicopter hangar. Officials in Bushehr province said no casualties were reported and insisted that oil exports and operations on the island were continuing normally.
Missile Strikes rock US Embassy in Baghdad as US bombs Iran’s Kharg Island
