Iran strikes Kuwaiti oil tanker in drone attack off Dubai coast: report

A Kuwaiti oil tanker off the coast of Dubai was set ablaze Tuesday after being struck by an Iranian drone, according to reports.

The fully-loaded Al Salmi tanker suffered damage to its hull and firefighters battled to control the flames, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

The 24 people on board the vessel were rescued and there were no oil spills, the Dubai government confirmed.

Tankers seen sailing in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. REUTERS

Officials are now investigating the scale of the damage caused to the vessel, which has been in operation since 2011.

The strike comes as oil prices continue to fluctuate while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. 

On Monday, the price of Brent crude reached $116 a barrel after President Trump claimed the US could just take Iran’s oil, similarly to how Washington took control of Venezuelan exports after Nicolás Maduro was deposed.

“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” he told the Financial Times Sunday.

Trump is also said to be mulling over whether to launch a ground invasion of Kharg Island – a Tehran energy stronghold, where around 90 per cent of its oil exports are processed.

Smoke billows from a Tehran residential area following a March 29 strike. Xinhua/Shutterstock

“Maybe we [will] take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” he said.

“It would also mean we had to be there [on the island] for a while.”

US allies have warned how a ground invasion could endanger American troops as Iran would launch retaliatory strikes.

Meanwhile, Trump also claimed a deal with Tehran was “probably” close — but warned US forces would obliterate Tehran’s electricity and oil plants if talks were unsuccessful.

“This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror,'” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump has paused strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure until April 6.

With Post wires