On March 14, 2026, smoke billows from the direction of an energy facility in Fujairah, a Gulf emirate. (Photo courtesy of AFP, Getty Images) /
– | AFP | Getty Images
Some oil loading operations have been halted due to a fire in Fujairah, a city in the United Arab Emirates and a key refueling hub, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing industry and trade sources.
The fire reportedly occurred after the US attacked Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil hub in the region, on Friday.
According to Reuters, the fire in Fujairah started after debris fell when a drone intercepted it. There were no injuries, according to the report.
A spokesperson for Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant ADNOC, which operates in Fujairah, declined to immediately confirm reports of the fire to CNBC.
Iran’s most elite military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Saturday that U.S. interests in the UAE, including ports, piers and military bases, were legitimate targets following the U.S. attack on Iranian islands, Reuters reported.
US President Donald Trump said he had directed US Central Command to conduct a bombing raid to attack military targets on Kharg Island. He added that the US military had not “wiped out” the island’s oil infrastructure.
On Friday, Brent crude oil futures ended above $100 a barrel for the second day in a row. The price of the global oil benchmark has risen more than 40% since the Iran war began.
Analysts say the possibility of the United States seizing the strategically important Kharg Island, also known as Iran’s “oil lifeline,” is considered an extremely high risk from both geopolitical and economic perspectives.
The eight-mile-long coral island, located about 25 miles off the coast of mainland Iran in waters in the northern Persian Gulf, had been left untouched by nearly two weeks of U.S. and Israeli-led attacks on Iran.
–CNBC’s Emma Graham and Reuters contributed to this report.
