Iranian Attack Strikes Kuwaiti Oil Tanker Near Dubai, Owner Says

An Iranian drone struck the Kuwait-flagged crude tanker Al-Salmi at Dubai Port's Anchorage E just after midnight on Tuesday, igniting a fire aboard the fully loaded vessel and driving Brent crude prices more than 2.5% higher within hours of the attack.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the state-run company that owns and operates the Al-Salmi, confirmed the strike occurred at 12:10 a.m. local time and condemned what it called a "direct, heinous Iranian attack." The tanker, a very large crude carrier positioned approximately 31 nautical miles northwest of Dubai while waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, was carrying roughly two million barrels of Saudi and Kuwaiti crude oil bound for Qingdao, China at the time of impact.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that an unknown projectile struck the vessel's starboard side, causing hull damage and sparking the onboard blaze. KPC warned of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters, though UAE officials confirmed no leak occurred. Dubai firefighting teams extinguished the fire by approximately 5:30 a.m. local time. All 24 crew members were confirmed safe.

The attack landed one day after President Trump threatened to begin "completely obliterating" Iran's energy infrastructure if no deal was reached, sharpening the geopolitical stakes around an already volatile waterway. Oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose more than 3% on the news, with WTI trading at $106.05 a barrel, while Brent extended gains to $115.35.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed separately that they had targeted the Singapore-flagged container ship Haiphong Express over its alleged ties to Israel. Shipping data showed the Haiphong Express was anchored directly alongside the Al-Salmi at the time of the strike, raising the possibility the Kuwaiti tanker was not the intended target.

The assault on the Al-Salmi marks one of the most consequential attacks on a commercial vessel since the United States and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran on February 28, a campaign that killed more than 1,340 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since responded with escalating drone and missile strikes across the Gulf, targeting shipping lanes, military installations, and infrastructure in Jordan, Iraq, and the UAE. The strike on a fully loaded VLCC anchored inside a major commercial port represents a significant escalation in that campaign, intensifying pressure on Gulf shipping corridors that funnel roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply.