By Georgi Kantchev
Iran's attack on Fujairah struck at the heart of the United Arab Emirates' oil escape hatch: the port meant to keep its oil flowing even as the Strait of Hormuz remains paralyzed.
The port sits on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz, and is the end point of the Habshan-Fujairah oil pipeline, which allows Abu Dhabi to move some crude pumped from its fields directly to the coast without sending tankers through the strait.
The pipeline carries up to 1.8 million barrels a day of oil. Before the war, the U.A.E. was producing around 3.4 million barrels of crude a day. Fujairah is also a major oil storage hub and ship-refueling point.
The strike comes days after the U.A.E. quit the OPEC oil cartel, a break that could free Abu Dhabi to pump more crude once Gulf export routes reopen. The U.A.E. has also been planning to expand its pipeline infrastructure, which would help give it alternatives to moving oil through the strait.
"The objective is to keep alternative export channels at risk, sustain elevated oil prices and block any perception of normalization," said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow specializing in the Middle East at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. "In other words, the message is that Donald Trump's mission in the strait will not be cost-free."
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2026 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)
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