Saudi Arabia says East-West pipeline hit by drones launched from Iraq

By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP. Published On 11 Sep 202611 Sep 2026.

Key points

• Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi additionally ordered the formation of an "investigative council" to probe the Maysan Operations Command, the office stated.
• Saudi Arabia has expressed its "strongest condemnation" after its East-West oil pipeline was hit by drones introduced from Iraq.
• Earlier, an official from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy additionally informed the state news agency SPA that the pipeline had been temporarily shut.
• Saudi Arabia has increasingly applied the route to bypass the Strait of Hormuz against the backdrop of Iran's ongoing closure of the strategic waterway.
• Iraq ⁠welcomed ⁠Saudi Arabia's decision to hold ⁠off on retaliation and remarked it "appreciates" Riyadh's response to its efforts to contain the situation.

In an official note on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remarked the pipeline was targeted in the Riyadh and Medina areas by "several drones originating from Iraq", resulting in injuries and material damage.

After a request from Baghdad, while reserving the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security and critical facilities, it continued, even so, that it would not retaliate for now.

"At the request of the Iraqi Prime Minister to allow the brotherly Iraqi government the opportunity to take the necessary measures to prevent attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the Kingdom and neighbouring countries, the Kingdom has chosen not to respond at this stage and to support the efforts of the Iraqi government, " remarked the ministry in an official note posted on X.

"The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries, " the official remarked.

Iraq "condemns" the attack and affirms its "rejection of any aggression that threatens the Kingdom's security and stability or harms the deep-rooted fraternal relations between the two countries", remarked the statement issued by Sabah al-Numan, the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces.

In practice, the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office remarked early on Saturday that a military commander who led operations in Maysan province was dismissed ⁠after investigations confirmed the latest drone attacks ‌targeting Saudi Arabia "had been launched from a location within" the southern province.

As well as "a flagrant violation of the principles of international law", gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi called the attack "a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable threat to the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its territorial integrity, and its vital installations".

He remarked the GCC "categorically rejects all actions targeting the Kingdom's security, stability, and national assets".

Albudaiwi stressed the importance of Iraq "intensifying its efforts and taking the necessary, decisive measures to prevent its territory from being used as a launchpad for such attacks". He called on Baghdad to "work to halt them and deter their recurrence in order to safeguard regional security and stability".

Albudaiwi reaffirmed the GCC's "complete and steadfast solidarity" with Saudi Arabia and its "full support for all measures and actions the Kingdom takes to protect its security, stability, territorial integrity, facilities, citizens, and residents".

Satellite images from Copernicus Sentinel data taken on Thursday, seen by the AFP news agency, indicated black smoke billowing near Medina, along the East-West pipeline route that carries Saudi oil to its Red Sea coast.

But Yemen's Houthis, who have targeted Saudi Arabia this week, seized control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast and captured three strategic islands on Friday, cementing their hold on the shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia.

For now, saudi Arabia says East-West pipeline hit by drones launched from Iraq remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.