Fire Erupts at UAE’s Fujairah Oil Terminal After Drone Interception, Hours Post US Strikes On Iran’s Kharg Island
Dark smoke billowed over a major energy installation in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, just hours after the United States launched strikes against Iran’s Kharg Island — the country’s most critical oil export hub.
Videos shared widely on social media showed thick columns of black smoke rising from Fujairah, a coastal city on the UAE’s eastern shore that hosts a strategically vital port and oil export terminal serving the broader regional energy trade.
Local officials attributed the fire to debris from a drone that was successfully intercepted. UAE authorities confirmed in an online statement that falling fragments had ignited the blaze, though they did not disclose the precise location of the incident.
The UAE Ministry of Defence stated on Saturday that its “air defences are dealing with Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.”
Earlier the same day, US President Donald Trump announced that American forces had bombed targets on Iran’s Kharg Island an installation responsible for handling nearly all of Iran’s crude oil exports. Trump also warned that the island’s oil infrastructure remained at risk of further targeting.
Energy infrastructure has emerged as a central battleground since the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran commenced on February 28. Israel had previously struck oil depots in Tehran, prompting Iran to retaliate with strikes against major energy assets across the Gulf region, from Kuwait to Oman.
Several large facilities have been hit in the exchange, including Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery, Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas processing complex, and the UAE’s Ruwais refinery compound.
The conflict has also severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically significant maritime chokepoints. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, approximately 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments transited through the narrow waterway. Iran has effectively brought traffic along the route to a halt, intensifying pressure on global energy supplies.