A Kuwaiti oil tanker caught fire after being struck by a drone in Dubai, with authorities containing the blaze and reporting no oil leakage or injuries.
Dubai authorities responded quickly to the incident, containing the fire on the Al Salmi tanker, which was anchored at the port in the United Arab Emirates. The tanker was loaded with two million barrels of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, bound for Qingdao, China. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation warned of a possible oil spill, but fortunately, no leakage occurred. The incident is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel's war on Iran began on February 28.
Multiple loud explosions were heard in Dubai on Monday night, causing alarm among residents. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reported from Dubai, saying that people were on high alert and military jets were patrolling the skies.
The attack on the Al Salmi tanker is part of a larger pattern of aggression in the region, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain also reporting attacks.
Work is now under way to assess damage to the tanker, with authorities working to determine the full extent of the incident.
When Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran's attacks only target US forces, that means he's downplaying the risk to civilians and regional stability - and that's a worrying sign for the entire Gulf region.
