By Sadiq Abdulfatah

The United Arab Emirates has accused Iran of launching a new wave of drone and missile attacks after a major fire broke out at the key oil port of Fujairah.

UAE officials said the blaze started after a drone strike hit the strategic port, which is one of the country’s most important oil export and storage hubs. Three Indian nationals were reported injured in the attack.

The UAE defence ministry also said it intercepted three missiles fired from Iran, while a fourth missile reportedly fell into the sea before reaching its target.

Earlier, the foreign ministry said a tanker linked to Adnoc, the UAE’s state oil company, was struck in the Strait of Hormuz. Authorities described the latest incidents as a dangerous escalation in regional tensions.

Iranian state television, quoting an unnamed military official, said Tehran had no plans to target the UAE.

The developments came as the United States said its naval destroyers and American-flagged merchant ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Iran later rejected several U.S. claims as false and said its forces had fired warning shots at an American warship. Washington had earlier denied reports in Iranian media that Iranian missiles hit a U.S. vessel.

Later on Monday, former President Donald Trump said the U.S. had shot down seven Iranian fast boats in the strait, a claim Iran denied.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely disrupted since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in February, followed by Iranian restrictions in the key shipping route used for about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas transport.

Although a ceasefire was announced in early April, shipping traffic has remained heavily affected, while the United States later imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports.

Oil markets reacted quickly to the latest developments, with Brent crude rising above $115 a barrel after reports of the Fujairah attack.

Fujairah is located on the UAE’s eastern coast outside the Strait of Hormuz and is linked to Abu Dhabi oilfields through a pipeline, allowing some exports to continue even when the strait faces disruption.

South Korea also reported an explosion on one of its ships anchored near the UAE earlier on Monday.

Neighbouring Qatar condemned the attack on the Adnoc-linked tanker and called for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

In Oman, state media reported that two people were injured after a residential building in Bukha, along the Strait coastline, was hit.

Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. would begin helping stranded vessels leave the waterway. Reports estimate around 20,000 seafarers on 2,000 ships have been stuck since the conflict began in February.

He said many countries had requested assistance to free ships trapped in the restricted waters, adding that the U.S. would escort them out if necessary.

Source: BBC