Tehran Attacks Oil Tanker Off Dubai After Trump Threatens to Escalate Strikes

Iran continues to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil and LNG travels.

People inspect damage to a residential building after it was hit by a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on March 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters

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.