Iran attacked a fully loaded crude oil tanker off the coast of Dubai on March 31, as President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the owner of the Kuwaiti-flagged Al-Salmi, said that the attack caused a fire and damage to the hull.
In a series of posts on X, the Dubai Media Office said that authorities had extinguished the fire on the oil tanker, and that response teams had successfully contained the incident, “with no oil leakage and no injuries reported.”
Marine Traffic said in a post on X that Al-Salmi was struck approximately 31 nautical miles northwest of Dubai. According to the ship tracking service’s data, the tanker was en route to Qingdao, China, “carrying an estimated 2 million barrels of crude oil.”
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have continued their waves of attacks on Iran. The IDF said in a March 30 post on X that it had struck 170 regime targets in the past day, in addition to conducting strikes on Iran’s military industries.
Israel and the United States are into the fifth week of the Iran war launched on Feb. 28. Iran continues to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travels.
“He wants to see a deal over the next 10 days,” Leavitt told reporters on March 30.
“We'll see what happens at the end of the 10-day period,” she said.
Iran has said it has received peace proposals, but Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said they were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive.”
Baqaei also denied that Tehran has had direct negotiations with Washington, writing in a post on X that Iran had received a negotiation request, along with a set of proposals, from the United States through intermediaries, including Pakistan.
“Our position is very clear,” Baqaei said in the March 30 post.
“At present, as America’s military aggression and invasion continue with full intensity, all our efforts and capabilities are devoted to defending Iran’s essence.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social that his administration was in talks with a “more reasonable” regime to end military operations, but issued a new warning to Tehran if the strait is not opened.
Mission Beyond Halfway Point
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Newsmax in an interview on March 30 that the joint U.S.–Israeli mission is “beyond the halfway point in terms of mission success,” citing efforts to degrade Tehran’s aggressive capabilities.“We’ve already degraded their missile capabilities, destroyed factories, and eliminated key nuclear scientists,” the Israeli prime minister said, adding that a focus of the mission is also to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in the future.
“They are pursuing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to American cities,” Netanyahu said. “That’s what this war is about—preventing that outcome.”
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a March 31 post on X that CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper met with the chief of the general staff of the IDF, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, to discuss progress on ongoing operations.
“They also reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.–Israel defense partnership and emphasized the importance of continued coordination,” CENTCOM said.
