Photos-show-a-major-fire-at-a-key-UAE-oil.jpeg

Photos show a major fire at a key UAE oil port, a day after the US struck a major Iranian depot

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  • A fire broke out near a key oil port in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.
  • Officials said debris from an intercepted drone caused the fire and that operations were suspended.
  • The US attacked Kharg Island, a major oil depot in Iran, on Friday.

Fire erupted at a critical oil hub in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday amid the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East.

Plumes of dark black smoke billowed around the Port of Fujairah, the only multipurpose maritime facility on the UAE’s east coast. The Fujairah government’s media office said debris from an intercepted drone caused the fire. No injuries were reported.

The fire comes after Iran said it would retaliate against the US for attacking Kharg Island on Friday. Kharg Island, located about 300 miles from the Strait of Hormuz, is key to Iran’s oil industry and has refineries that process nearly all of the country’s oil exports.

President Donald Trump said the US had “totally obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island in a Truth Social post on Friday. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said he hoped other countries affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure would send warships alongside the US to help secure it.

War broke out in the Middle East last month when the US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran. In response, Iran has targeted US military bases in neighboring countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE. The ongoing military conflict has shuttered airspaces and halted most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. US strikes on Kharg Island and damage to the UAE’s Port of Fujairah could impact oil prices, which again surged past $100 on Friday, driving up gas prices around the world.

Smoke from the coast of Fujairah spread over the Gulf of Oman.

NASA MODIS satellite image of Fujairah on Saturday.

NASA Modis satellite image, November 14, 2026.

A satellite image taken on Saturday showed smoke from the fire spreading over the Gulf of Oman. The Port of Fujairah exported an average of 1.7 million barrels of crude oil and refined fuels each day in 2025, Reuters reported.

Some operations at the Port of Fujairah were suspended on Saturday.


Fujairah in the UAE on March 14, 2026.

Fire broke out in Fujairah on Saturday.

AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

Local outlets reported that some oil-loading operations were suspended on Saturday following the intercepted strike.

The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone can store millions of barrels.


Oil facility in Fujairah in the UAE on March 14, 2026.

The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in Fujairah on Saturday.

AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, located near the port, is home to the largest commercial storage facility for refined oil products in the Middle East. The hub can store about 70 million barrels of oil.

The military conflict has sent oil prices skyrocketing.


Fujairah in the UAE on March 14, 2026

Oil prices have risen globally since the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran.

AFP/Getty Images

The ongoing war has disrupted the oil supply chain, sending oil prices over $100 a barrel this week. The International Energy Agency said it will release 400 million barrels from reserves in response, marking the largest coordinated release in the IEA’s history.

The International Energy Agency said the war has caused the largest oil market disruption in history.


Fujairah in the UAE on March 14, 2026.

Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

AFP/Getty Images

The International Energy Agency said global oil supply will drop by 8 million barrels a day in March.

“Disruptions are not limited to upstream production and exports, with several refineries and gas processing facilities shut down due to attacks or for safety concerns,” the agency said in its monthly markets report. “The closure of the Strait is also forcing export-oriented refineries to cut runs or shut completely as product storage tanks top up.”

The UAE said it intercepted nine missiles and 33 drones launched from Iran on Saturday.


Fujairah in the UAE on March 14, 2026.

Iran launched over 30 drones at the UAE on Saturday, according to the UAE’s military defence.

AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

The UAE Defense Ministry said it intercepted nine ballistic missiles and 33 uncrewed aerial vehicles launched from Iran in an X post on Saturday.

“Since the onset of the blatant Iranian aggression, UAE air defences have engaged 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,600 UAVs launched from Iran,” it said.




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Jake Epstein

Satellite image shows Iran’s largest naval vessel, a tanker-turned-warship, smoking in port

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Newly captured satellite imagery from the ongoing conflict with Iran shows it’s biggest warship — a former oil tanker converted into a floating base — on fire at a military port.

The imagery, captured on Monday by the US commercial imaging firm Planet Labs PBC and obtained by Business Insider, shows a massive plume of smoke rising from what analysts identified as the IRINS Makran in the harbor at Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz and the Makran’s home port.

President Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to “annihilate” Iran’s navy as he announced the start of “major combat operations” against the country.


The Iranian warship Makran burns in port.

A close-up view of the Makran.

Planet Labs PBC’



US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said on Monday that it has destroyed all 11 of Iran’s ships in the Gulf of Oman. It was not immediately clear if that tally includes the Makran.

Commercial satellite imagery captured by US spatial intelligence firm Vantor on Sunday showed destroyed and sinking vessels, as well as damaged buildings at the Iranian naval base in Konarak.

Iran converted the Makran, an oil tanker, into a forward base ship in 2020 and commissioned the vessel into the navy the following year. Technically not a combat ship, it is still Iran’s largest warship and can carry roughly a dozen helicopters.

The deck can accommodate missile and rocket artillery launchers, as well as vertical takeoff and landing drones. The vessel has completed several long-distance voyages, including one that circled the globe.

The Makran is one of several Iranian warships that were once civilian vessels. In recent years, Tehran has converted several container ships into militarized drone carriers.


The Iranian warship Makran sails in the ocean.

The Makran is a tanker converted into a forward base ship.

Iranian Army via AP



CENTCOM said it struck one of these vessels, the Shahid Bagheri, in the opening hours of the conflict over the weekend. The carrier’s status is unknown.

The US strikes initially focused on Iran’s naval forces, command and control facilities, intelligence infrastructure, and ballistic missile sites, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Monday.

US and Israeli aircraft have also targeted Iranian air defenses, paving the way for both militaries to secure air superiority over large parts of the country.

Additional satellite imagery shows widespread damage across Iran, including at drone and air bases, official compounds, and missile bases. Other military infrastructure, such as radar systems, was also struck.

Iran has retaliated by launching waves of missiles and drones at bases hosting US forces across the Middle East, Israel, and most other countries in the region, including the Gulf states.

The US and its allies have said that they have intercepted hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones. Some have slipped past air defenses, though, killing more than a dozen people across the region, including six American service members.




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