Smoke seen rising from direction of UAE energy facility

Dubai: Smoke was rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on Saturday, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf's petroleum facilities -- hours after the US struck Iran's Kharg Island oil hub.

Clouds of dark black smoke were seen coming from Fujairah, which is home to a major port where Iranian attacks have already targeted an oil storage and trading hub. The port is also home to a major oil export terminal.

Local authorities, in an online statement, said debris falling after a successful drone interception had caused a fire, without specifying the location.


The incident comes hours after President Donald Trump said the US military had bombed targets on Iran's Kharg Island -- which handles almost all of Iran's crude exports -- and threatened to hit the island's oil infrastructure.

Drone strikes hit the UAE's Fujairah energy installations earlier this month, with falling debris from an intercepted drone sparking a blaze, authorities said.

Since the beginning of the war, Iran has methodically targeted the Gulf's major energy installations from Kuwait to Oman.

The strikes have mostly hit oil and gas fields or sprawling complexes, such as the massive Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia, Ras Laffan gas processing base in Qatar and the complex housing the Ruwais refinery in the United Arab Emirates.

Iran has also effectively halted traffic in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane that saw around 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas pass through its waters before the onset of the war.