Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) \/ <\/p>\n
– | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Some oil-loading operations have been suspended in Fujairah, a city in the United Arab Emirates and a key bunkering hub, after a fire broke out there, Reuters reported on Saturday quoting industry and trade sources.<\/p>\n
The reported fire comes after the U.S. attacked Iran’s Kharg island<\/a>, a key regional oil hub, on Friday.<\/p>\n The fire in Fujairah started after debris fell as a drone was intercepted, Reuters reported. No one was injured, according to the report.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant, ADNOC, which operates in Fujairah, declined to immediately confirm to CNBC the reports of the fire.<\/p>\n Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its most\u00a0elite military institution<\/a>, said on Saturday that U.S. interests in the UAE, including ports, docks and military locations are legitimate targets following the U.S.’ attacks on Iranian islands, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n U.S. President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0said he directed the U.S. Central Command to carry out a bombing raid, hitting military targets on Kharg. He added that U.S. forces did not “wipe out” the island’s oil infrastructure.<\/p>\n On Friday,\u00a0Brent crude oil futures<\/a>\u00a0closed above $100 per barrel for the second straight day. The global oil benchmark’s price has surged more than 40% since the Iran war started.<\/p>\n Analysts have said that the prospect of a U.S. move to seize Kharg Island, a strategically vital hub often referred to as Iran’s\u00a0“oil lifeline,”<\/a>\u00a0is considered extremely high risk, both from a geopolitical and economic standpoint.<\/p>\n The five-mile-long coral island, which is located about 15 miles off the coast of mainland Iran in the waters of the northern Persian Gulf, had been left untouched through\u00a0nearly two weeks<\/a>\u00a0of U.S. and Israeli-led strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n — CNBC’s Emma Graham<\/a> and Reuters contributed to this report.<\/p>\n