Saudi Arabia resumes loading oil from the port of Yanbu after restarting the East-West pipeline

Trade sources and shipping data revealed that Saudi Arabia has resumed oil loading operations from the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea after restarting the East-West pipeline.

Oil loading from Yanbu was halted earlier this month following a drone attack on the East-West pipeline, but the resumption of loading operations affected global oil prices, as it reinforced indications of increased flows from the Middle East after the US war with Iran led to a reduction in oil shipments.

A source at an Asian refining company said that the oil giant Saudi Aramco informed its customers of the shipping schedule in October from the port of Yanbu. The refining company loaded a shipment from the port a few days ago.

Aramco has not yet responded to Reuters' request for comment.

Satellite images from the European Space Agency indicated that loading operations had resumed.

“Satellite images taken by the European Space Agency over the Red Sea on September 27 show that Saudi Arabia is loading approximately 10 million barrels of crude oil in Yanbu and Al-Mujaj,” ship tracking company TankerTrackers.com wrote in a post on the Al-Mujaz Port is located south of Yanbu.

The company added, "We also observed operations of loading duplicate products. We monitored with the naked eye a total of 40 tankers, regardless of their activity or proximity to these two ports."

Two trade sources separately estimated the quantities of crude oil loaded from Yanbu at about two million barrels per day since last week.

A source in the sector said that oil flows through the pipeline amounted to about two million barrels per day, while the Kpler ship tracking company indicated that it was 2.65 million barrels per day. This is much less than the pipeline's capacity of seven million barrels per day.

The company expected oil flows to rise to between three and four million barrels per day in the coming days.

The company indicated in a memorandum issued yesterday, Monday, that a full return to the pre-attack rate of about 5.5 million barrels per day may take another month.

The Iraqi Ministry of Transport announced today, Tuesday (September 29, 2026), that Iraqi Airlines is preparing to resume its flights to Iran in October, following its suspension in light of the US sanctions that impose restrictions on the services provided to Iranian airlines.

The ministry explained that Iraq obtained a special exception allowing Iraqi Airlines to operate flights to Iran.

The Ministry of Transport said that flights next month will initially depart from “Najaf International Airport after completing the necessary regulatory requirements.”

A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Transport said that the US Treasury Department was the one that granted the exemption, and it will continue for a month. The source added that the number of permitted flights has not yet been determined.

An Iraqi official source told Agence France-Presse, "Iraqi aviation obtained an exception, but with conditions, to operate flights between Najaf and Iran."

In turn, a source at Najaf Airport said, “The airport was notified yesterday of the resumption of Iraqi flights to Iran, but there are no flight schedules yet.”

Najaf Airport, a major gateway for Iranian pilgrims wishing to visit the holy shrines in Iraq, suspended flights by Iranian companies late last week, in compliance with the sanctions recently imposed by Washington on the entire air transport sector of the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian embassy in London today, Monday (September 28, 2026), denied what it described as “tendentious and baseless speculation” linking Tehran to five British citizens who were arrested over the weekend near the Fairford Air Base of the British Royal Air Force.

The embassy said in a statement published on the X platform that it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” attempts to link Iran to the arrests, adding that such speculation will only lead to “fueling Iran-hate propaganda” in Britain.

British counter-terrorism police said five young Britons were arrested near a US-run air base in England on suspicion of “offenses of the Explosives Act” and “planning a terrorist act”.

Counter-terrorism investigators said they were investigating "multiple lines of inquiry", including whether there was a link to Iran, Russia or non-state-backed armed groups. The RAF Verford base has been the focus of protests by anti-war activists.

However, on Monday afternoon, the police announced their release on bail, and Britain's head of counter-terrorism police, Lawrence Taylor, said that the suspects face strict conditions and will "remain fully under investigation while we explore multiple lines of investigation."

For his part, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, "I am surprised by their release. I would not have done that," adding, "We know everything about them. We would not have released them."

In July, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned that any base used to launch attacks on Iran would be considered a “legitimate target,” according to the Telegraph.

The US Air Force has used the Fairford base since the Cold War, and previously used it in operations during the Gulf War in the early 1990s and the Iraq War in 2003.

Iran filed a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Iranian aviation sector led to the cancellation of several flights from Tehran, according to what the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

IRNA quoted the head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, Abu Dhar Shirodi, as saying, “In defense of the legitimate rights of the aviation sector and confronting the illegal restrictions imposed by the United States, an official protest was prepared by the Islamic Republic of Iran and sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).”

ICAO is a United Nations agency headquartered in Montreal, Canada, which sets and regulates civil aviation standards. This month, the United States imposed restrictions on the entire Iranian aviation sector, threatening to take strict measures against companies that help it. With the entry into force of the sanctions last Wednesday, major airlines were forced to cancel international flights after several countries imposed bans on them.

Shirodi added, "We also submitted, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a complaint to the International Court of Justice in The Hague." Destinations in neighboring Türkiye have become the main travel options for Iranians wishing to enter or leave their country. Flights are still available to Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, Malaysia and Thailand, while flights to the United Arab Emirates have been suspended.

Dubai was the most important destination in the Middle East for Iranian airlines, as it operated several flights daily from Iran. Dubai, the financial center of the Emirates, provides connecting flights to Europe, Asia and Africa, and has been a transit stop for many Iranian travelers. An official at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran said on Sunday that Iranian airlines are still operating flights to about 30 international destinations.