UAE nuclear plant hit with drone attacks
Iran was seen launching drone and missile strikes on the UAE earlier this month, as military tensions flared in the Middle East, especially over the Strait of Hormuz.
On Sunday, drone strikes caused a fire near the Barakah nuclear plant in the UAE, although no direct damage was done to the main plant.
The UAE blamed Iran or one of its proxies for the attack, calling it a “dangerous escalation.”
Iran was seen launching drone and missile strikes on the UAE earlier this month as military tensions flared in the Middle East, especially over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had warned last week that a U.S.-Iran ceasefire was on “massive life support,” as attempts at negotiating a peace deal largely fell flat.
The Strait of Hormuz remained closed after Iran effectively blocked the waterway in late-February. This kept oil shipments to Asia largely disrupted, underpinning crude prices.
A U.S.-China summit held last week yielded few new developments on Iran. Trump claimed that China had agreed to buy American oil, but it remained unclear whether a formal agreement had been signed.
Fears of oil supply disruptions remained a major concern, as Hormuz’s closure affected roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply. Shipping data showed traffic through the strait remained at a fraction of pre-war levels.
Adding to concerns over tighter oil markets, the U.S. let a sanctions waiver on Russian oil lapse over the weekend.
The waiver had previously allowed countries to buy Russian seaborne oil, but will now force major oil importers, especially India, to seek new sources of crude.
Russia-Ukraine war adds to oil uncertainty
Separately, the Russia-Ukraine war raged on, also adding to concerns over disruptions in oil supplies.
Ukrainian drone strikes battered Russia over the weekend, with Moscow seen retaliating with its own drone attacks early-Monday.
Reuters reported Russia had struck a vessel headed for loading in a Ukrainian port.
Ukraine was seen repeatedly targeting Russian energy and oil infrastructure in recent months– a trend that could greatly disrupt Moscow’s oil production, as Kyiv seeks to shut off the country’s main source of overseas revenue.
