//The Wire//2300Z May 08, 2026//
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 //BLUF: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CONDUCTS STRIKES IN IRAN, IRANIAN RETALIATION STRIKES TARGET DUBAI AND SHIPPING IN THE STRAIT. USA INCREASES TARGETING AND INTERDICTION OPERATIONS IN THE GULF OF OMAN. MAJOR FIRE REPORTED AT REFINERY IN LOUISIANA.//

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 -International Events-

Middle East: Overnight, multiple targeting efforts took place in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates conducted multiple airstrikes in Iran, targeting facilities on Qeshm Island as well as the port of Bandar Abbas. This attack was reportedly conducted in conjunction with the United States (or with some US support), and resulted in Iranian counterattacks on the UAE as several drones and missile attacks were reported in Dubai. Officials did not state how many munitions hit their targets, however "3 moderate injuries" were reported on the ground in the UAE as a result of this first wave of attacks.

As the fighting continued throughout the night, the UAE traded bombs and missiles with Iran for a few hours, and several merchant ships in the Strait were also struck. American warships struck a total of three merchant vessels throughout the region (possibly to include in the Strait itself) overnight, all of which were empty tanker vessels attempting to run the American blockade to onload a cargo of oil from Iranian ports. Similarly, the Iranians also reportedly hit several merchant vessels, though which ones remain unknown at the moment.

After the shooting subsided in the early hours of this morning, the Iranians seized a tanker in the Gulf of Oman. The M/T OCEAN KOI (IMO: 9255933) was boarded by the IRGCN for allegedly "taking advantage of regional conditions to damage and disrupt Iran’s oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation".

Analyst Comment: It's not clear as to why this vessel was boarded, as this is one of Iran's own shadow tankers which has been on the sanctions list for many years, and has previously helped export Iran's oil in violation of international sanctions. Her most recent name is the M/V JIN LI and last night she was inbound to the Persian Gulf to take on a cargo of Iranian oil at Iran's own ports. At the moment, the best guess is that the Iranians might have discovered that the oil was going to an unauthorized end customer and thus conducted the boarding. However it's also possible that during the events of the night, the Iranians needed to assert dominance, so they took the only ship that was within their reach, which happened to be one of their own.

-HomeFront-

Louisiana: This afternoon a major fire was reported at the PBF Chalmette Refinery. The cause of the fire has not been released, and as of this report firefighters are attempting to bring the fire under control. This facility is a comparatively smaller refinery that produces almost 200,000 bbl/d and in 2021, $550 million was invested in this facility to covert an older unit to produce diesel.

Analyst Comment: Fires at refineries are more common than one might think, but this is the second fire at a refinery in the same area in a week's time. A few miles to the west, Shell reported a fire at their Norco facility last week, which was the result of a gas leak.

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Analyst Comments: At this point, it is hard to argue that the ceasefire is still in effect in the Middle East, but that definition probably doesn't matter at this point. Over the past 48 hours, multiple offensive actions have taken place throughout the region. Nevertheless, as CJCS Gen. Caine said yesterday, these attacks are "below the threshold" for the United States to consider the ceasefire violated. The effect of this policy is two-fold: For one, gas prices don't spike by admitting the war is back on, and two, Oman and the UAE (the nations getting hit by the Iranians) are rather slighted by attacks o