Saudi East-West pipeline shuts down due to drone attack from Iraq

Reuters reported on the 11th (local time) that the East-West Pipeline, an oil pipeline used by Saudi Arabia as a bypass transport route for crude oil following Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked and operations were temporarily suspended.

As the drone used in this attack was confirmed to have been launched from Iraq, Saudi Arabia's two sea routes, as well as its land transport, were threatened.

Saudi Energy Ministry officials said oil pipelines had been attacked several times in the Riyadh and Medina areas, and some people were injured. The attack took place on the 10th, and the Saudi government announced that a drone launched from Iraqi territory attacked the oil pipeline.

In this regard, the Iraqi Prime Minister condemned the attack and ordered an immediate investigation to determine who was responsible for it.

Later, after midnight on the 12th local time, the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office announced that one military commander had been dismissed, saying that an investigation had confirmed that the drone originated from the country.

The Iraqi Prime Minister's Office explained that this commander was in charge of military operations in Maysan Province, southern Iraq.

Although it has been confirmed that the drone departed from Iraq, the exact attacker has not yet been identified.

However, according to the Associated Press, recently, pro-Iranian militants in Iraq have been jointly carrying out military operations targeting Saudi Arabia with the pro-Iranian Houthis in Yemen.

During the large-scale drone attack targeting Saudi oil facilities last July, Houthi rebels' special envoys joined the Iraqi militants' operation control room to develop and execute an attack plan.

At the time, the United States and Saudi Arabia identified pro-Iranian militias in Iraq as the actual mastermind behind the drone attack and carried out joint retaliatory airstrikes.

Earlier, the U.S. CNN broadcast quoted a U.S. official familiar with the matter as saying that an oil pipeline and a pumping station were attacked by a projectile, and that a pumping station that was on fire and emitting smoke and a pumping station that appears to have suffered extensive fire damage were captured in satellite photos, respectively.

The 1,201-kilometer-long East-West Pipeline, which crosses the Arabian Peninsula and connects to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, has become more important with Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of war in late February due to attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.

This pipeline can transport approximately 7 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Saudi Arabia has been diverting approximately 5 million barrels of crude oil per day through this oil pipeline. For this reason, Aramco Chairman Yasir Othman al-Rumaiyarnilba described the East-West pipeline as the "lifeline" of the Saudi economy.

CNN reported that as the war with Iran continues, the threat to Saudi Arabia's oil resources and ability to export them is growing.

In particular, this attack took place in a situation where Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels quickly took control of key strategic points in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, including Moka Port.