Black smoke billowed over the UAE’s main oil port Saturday as Iran made good on its threat to retaliate for the U.S. strike on Kharg Island, launching a wave of missiles and drones that set fuel tanks ablaze and forced the suspension of loading operations at a terminal handling 1% of global oil demand.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a chilling warning to civilians: evacuate the ports, docks, and “American hideouts” in the UAE, because they are now legitimate targets.
“The IRGC is sending a message that there is no safe harbor in this rapidly expanding conflict,” said Helima Croft, analyst at RBC Capital. “The fact this comes hours after the U.S. strike on Kharg Island also signals that Tehran will not let Washington control the terms of escalation and impose dominance”.
The Attack
Iran launched nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones toward the UAE on Saturday, according to the country’s Ministry of Defence. Targets included the Jebel Ali port in Dubai — one of the world’s busiest shipping hubs — as well as Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi and the Fujairah oil terminal.
Television footage showed thick plumes of dark smoke rising from Fujairah, where industry and trade sources confirmed some oil-loading operations had been suspended. The extent of the damage and duration of the disruption remained unclear.
Iranian state media identified the strikes as retaliation for Friday’s U.S. attack on Kharg Island, which handles 90% of Iran’s crude exports. A Revolutionary Guards spokesperson declared that ports, docks, and military shelters used by the U.S. in UAE cities were now legitimate military targets.
Iran also warned residents to evacuate areas near the targeted ports and said it was specifically targeting branches of U.S. banks operating in the Gulf.
Trump’s Response
President Donald Trump responded with a promise to escalate further — and a call for allies to join the fight.
In a Truth Social post, Trump announced that “many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe”.
He listed China, France, Japan, South Korea, and Britain as potential contributors, without providing details on which had committed.
“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water,” Trump wrote.
He reiterated his threat to strike Iran’s oil infrastructure unless Tehran stops attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s fossil energy supplies normally flow.
The Strategic Waterway
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since the war began, creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history. Maritime traffic through the region has halted, pushing prices sharply higher.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father, has declared that the strategic waterway should remain closed as a tool of pressure.
The U.S. aims to reopen it by force, with Trump calling for an international naval coalition. But Iran has shown it can strike far beyond the strait’s narrow waters — hitting Fujairah, which sits safely outside the chokepoint, proves that no port in the Gulf is beyond reach.
The UAE’s Dilemma
Behind the scenes, resentment has been mounting in Gulf Arab capitals at being drawn into a war they neither initiated nor endorsed but are now paying for economically and militarily, regional sources told Reuters.
Saturday’s attack forced the UAE to confront that reality publicly.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, issued a blistering statement on X, accusing Iran of “military impotence, moral bankruptcy, and political isolation” for targeting Arab Gulf states rather than confronting U.S. and Israeli forces directly.
“Iranian strategy, which reflects its inability to confront U.S. and Israeli strikes by targeting Arab Gulf states, reveals a military impotence, a moral bankruptcy, and a political isolation,” Gargash wrote.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that Iran would respond to any attack on its energy facilities by targeting U.S. companies in the region or companies in which the U.S. holds shares — a threat that puts Gulf-based American businesses directly in the crosshairs.
What Comes Next
The U.S. Central Command said Saturday its forces had struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, destroying naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers. Trump described the operation as “totally obliterating” military sites on Iran’s “crown jewel”.
Iran has vowed to step up its use of more powerful weapons. The Revolutionary Guards have made clear: for every strike on Iranian soil, there will be a response somewhere in the Gulf.
The war has now killed more than 2,000 people, most of them in Iran. It has created the biggest oil supply disruption in history. And with both sides vowing escalation, there is no end in sight.
As one analyst put it: “The IRGC is sending a message that there is no safe harbor in this rapidly expanding conflict.” Saturday’s fire in Fujairah proved they meant it.
