Saudi Arabia shuts down oil pipeline, blaming drones from Iraq

Saudi authorities said Friday drones launched from Iraq led to the temporary closure of a crucial oil export route used to bypass the lockdown of the Strait of Hormuz.Riyadh has increased its use of the East-West pipeline, which links Abqaiq, near the Gulf, to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, since the start of the Middle East war to bypass Strait of Hormuz closed by Iran.The Saudi foreign ministry condemned “the targeting of the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones coming from Iraq, which caused human injuries and damage”.“The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries,” an energy ministry official told the SPA news agency earlier.Satellite images from Copernicus Sentinel Data taken on Thursday showed black smoke billowing near Medina, along the general route of the East-West pipeline that carries Saudi oil to its Red Sea coast.The news comes as Yemen’s rampant Houthi forces have captured the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab strait, expanding their control of the narrow waterway, one of the ​world’s vital shipping routes.The office of Iraqi prime minister Ali al-Zaidi confirmed the attack originated from Iraqi territory and said on X that the commander in charge of the southern province of Maysan had been dismissed.The Iraqi government said it condemned “the attacks targeting our brethren in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [that] originated from a location within the governorate”.Riyadh said that, at the Iraqi prime minister’s request, it had chosen “not to respond at this stage and to support the efforts of the Iraqi government …to prevent attacks launched from Iraq against the Kingdom and neighbouring countries”.Riyadh previously accused Iranian-backed Iraqi militias of targeting its oil infrastructure. But it stressed that the kingdom “reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, its security, its facilities,” and its people.Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar also condemned the attack on the Saudi pipeline, while the Gulf Cooperation Council denounced “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable threat to the security of the Kingdom”.Oil prices have climbed past $100 a barrel this week, while average US diesel prices topped $6 for the first time on Friday – a potential headache for president Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections.Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a maritime blockade in July against Saudi Arabia – which supports the Yemeni government – attacking its oil tankers in the Red Sea.By taking control of the Yemeni Red Sea coast and the islands in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Friday, the Houthis consolidated their grip on the strategic passage linking Europe and Asia.Navigation through the Bab al-Mandab Strait was “safe” for all but Saudi Arabia after the latest advances, the Houthis said.