Beyond ‘Halfway’: Netanyahu Signals Progress as Iranian Drone Strikes Tanker in Dubai

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In a landmark address from Jerusalem on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran is now “beyond the halfway point” in achieving its strategic objectives. Speaking as the conflict enters its fifth volatile week, Netanyahu emphasized that the mission—codenamed Operation Epic Fury—has succeeded in “systematically degrading” the Islamic Republic’s military industrial complex and command structure. “In terms of missions, not necessarily time, we are past the midway mark,” Netanyahu clarified, urging international allies to remain resolute despite a “war of attrition” currently unfolding in the Persian Gulf.

The Prime Minister’s progress report coincides with a significant escalation in maritime hostilities. Early Tuesday morning, Dubai authorities confirmed that a fully loaded Kuwaiti crude oil tanker, the Al Salmi, was struck by an Iranian suicide drone while anchored at Dubai Port. The attack sparked a major fire on board the vessel, which was carrying approximately 2 million barrels of oil. While maritime firefighting teams successfully extinguished the blaze with no reported injuries or oil leakage, the strike sent shockwaves through global energy markets. US crude futures jumped $3.00 (2.9%) to $105.91 per barrel within hours of the incident, reflecting deep-seated fears over the security of the world’s most vital energy chokepoint.

Netanyahu’s “halfway” assessment suggests that while the initial “decapitation strikes” on February 28 successfully targeted senior leadership, the war has transitioned into a grueling phase of infrastructure neutralization. The Prime Minister claimed that the “stormtroopers” of the IRGC have been hit “very hard,” and that the alliance is “close to finishing” Iran’s domestic arms industry. However, geopolitical analysts warn that the Iranian regime, now in a fight for its existential survival, has pivoted to a “depletion strategy.” By launching waves of low-cost drones against civilian infrastructure and tankers in the Gulf, Tehran aims to force the U.S. and Israel to expend their finite stockpiles of expensive air defense interceptors.

The attack on the Al Salmi has effectively ended any lingering neutrality among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Following the strike in Dubai waters and recent attacks on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the GCC has officially labeled Iranian aggression a “turning point.” The rhetoric from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi has shifted from calls for “restraint” to demands for a “decisive conclusion.” This alignment is fueling talk of a “Middle East NATO,” as regional powers increasingly view the weakened Iranian regime as a source of terminal instability that can no longer be contained through diplomacy.

As the oil price hovers at $116 (peaking briefly higher following the Dubai strike), the global economic fallout is becoming the primary concern for Western leaders. While Netanyahu remains focused on “maximalist objectives”—including the total elimination of Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile threat—the White House is reportedly pushing for a diplomatic “off-ramp” before an April 6 deadline. With the Al Salmi currently being assessed for structural damage in Dubai, the “beyond halfway” mark feels like a precarious threshold; the path to the finish line appears increasingly blocked by the smoke of burning tankers and the rising cost of a regional war that refuses to stay within its borders.

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