Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai port\u2019s anchorage, with the strike damaging the vessel\u2019s hull and raising concerns about a possible oil spill.<\/p>\n
Dubai authorities said the drone attack caused a fire on board that was extinguished early on Tuesday, hours after the attack was first reported. The attack came hours after Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran\u2019s energy plants and oil wells<\/a> if it does not open the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The strike on the Al Salmi tanker is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran last month. The month-long conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said the Al Salmi was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates<\/a>, causing a fire onboard and other damage to the vessel. It warned of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters, Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA reported.<\/p>\n Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams successfully put out the blaze which was sparked by a drone attack and continued to assess the situation, adding that no injuries were reported and all 24 crew members were safe.<\/p>\n Crude oil prices briefly spiked after Kuwait\u2019s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices, but retreated slightly after the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> that Donald Trump had told aides he was willing to end the war even if the strait of Hormuz remains closed and that military options were \u201cnot his immediate priority\u201d.<\/p>\n