OLYMPIC PROGRESS

Tehran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Tuesday, despite a threat by President Donald Trump that the U.S. will obliterate Iran's energy plants if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.Authorities in Dubai said the fire on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi had been brought under control following a drone attack, with no oil leak and no injuries to the crew. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship's owner, said the vessel's hull was damaged.The attack was the latest on merchant vessels in the strait, a vital waterway, since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

Iran attacked a fully-loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai Port's anchorage on Monday, setting it ablaze and damaging its hull, Kuwait's state news agency reported, citing Kuwait Petroleum Corp, which warned of a possible oil spill.The apparent strike is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose more than $3 or 2.9% to $105.91 a barrel on news the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi tanker had been attacked.

The U.S. is allowing a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba, the New York Times reported on Sunday, possibly granting a lifeline to the Caribbean island amid a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington.Ship tracking data showed the Russian-flagged tanker Anatoly ⁠Kolodkin on Sunday was just off the eastern tip of Cuba.The Times report, citing a U.S. official briefed on the matter, said it was unclear why the U.S. Coast Guard was allowing the shipment to go through. A move by Washington to block the tanker by force, however, could have raised tensions at sea with Russia.

Pakistan said on Sunday it was preparing to host "meaningful talks" to end the conflict over Iran in coming days even though Tehran earlier accused Washington of preparing a land assault while seeking negotiations.Speaking after talks between regional foreign ministers, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said they had covered possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region as well as potential U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad."Pakistan will be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in coming days, for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict," he said. It was not immediately clear whether the U.S.

Oil supply disruptions from the Middle East will rise in April and begin to impact Europe's economy as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz severely curbs supplies, International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.More than 12 million barrels of oil have been lost since the start of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran due to Tehran's attacks on energy assets in the region and restrictions on shipping through the Strait, he added."The loss of oil in April will be twice the oil loss in March, on top of the loss of LNG... It will come through inflation and will cut economic growth in many countries," Birol told a podcast with Nicolai Tangen, the head of Norway's sovereign wealth fund.