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

Saudi Arabia has expressed its “strongest condemnation” after its East-West oil pipeline was hit by drones launched from Iraq.

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the pipeline was targeted in the Riyadh and Medina areas by “several drones originating from Iraq”, resulting in injuries and material damage.

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It added, however, that it would not retaliate for now, following a request from Baghdad, while reserving the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security and critical facilities.

“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,” said the ministry in a statement posted on X.

Earlier, an official from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy also told the state news agency SPA that the pipeline had been temporarily shut.

“The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries,” the official said.

Iraq ⁠welcomed ⁠Saudi Arabia’s decision to hold ⁠off on retaliation and said it “appreciates” Riyadh’s response to its efforts to contain the situation.

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”, said the statement issued by Sabah al-Numan, the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces.

The Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said 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.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi also ordered the formation of an “investigative council” to probe the Maysan Operations Command, the office said.

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”, as well as “a flagrant violation of the principles of international law”.

He said 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, showed black smoke billowing near Medina, along the East-West pipeline route that carries Saudi oil to its Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia has increasingly used the route to bypass the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s ongoing closure of the strategic waterway.