An Iranian drone attack set a fully loaded crude oil tanker ablaze while it was anchored at Dubai port, causing damage to the vessel's hull. The fire was extinguished within hours and no injuries were reported. The attack on the Kuwaiti-flagged tanker Al Salmi is the latest strike on merchant vessels in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident came hours after US President Donald Trump warned that the US would 'obliterate' Iran's energy plants and oil wells unless it opened the Strait of Hormuz. The US-Israel war against Iran has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening economic chaos.
Trump has continued to give mixed messages, threatening to destroy Iran's energy facilities unless it agrees to peace terms, while simultaneously claiming diplomatic progress in ending the war. Iran has accused the US of using diplomacy as a smokescreen to prepare for more attacks.
The Philippines, which imports almost all of its crude oil from the Middle East, is particularly exposed to surging prices, which have triggered protests and widespread anger.
