Iran ramped up its missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday night, setting a major oil port known as the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone ablaze. Three Indian nationals were injured, prompting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to denounce Iran’s actions. Oil prices jumped about six percent on news of the fire at Fujairah, which was attacked by a dozen Iranian ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles, and four drones, according to Emirati defense officials. Iranian state media claimed the attack was a justified response to “U.S. military adventurism.”
Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that comprise the UAE, which was founded in 1971. The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone is located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, about 80 miles from the Strait of Hormuz. The facility receives huge quantities of oil from a pipeline called the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), which runs about 235 miles to the gas fields in the south of another emirate, Abu Dhabi. The port is also a significant hub for refueling ships, storing oil, and loading other forms of cargo. The Fujairah Anchorage Area is large enough to accommodate 174 ships and provide necessary services for their crews while they await new sailing orders.
The ADCOP pipeline is one of the major oil arteries of the Middle East, and it figures prominently in discussions of how global oil flows might be adjusted to reduce the importance of the Strait of Hormuz. This is probably why Iran attacked it, using a much more intensive bombardment than the offhanded drone strikes it launched at Fujairah during Operation Epic Fury in April. Civil defense officials in Fujairah said the port fire was “under control” on Tuesday, but they would conduct a “cooling exercise” to prevent the fire from reigniting. (Read More)
