# Saudi Arabia Halts East–West Oil Pipeline After Drone Strike Blamed on Iran-Backed Iraqi Groups

*Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 6:14 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-12T06:14:03.934Z (2h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 9/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/17577.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Saudi Arabia has temporarily closed its East–West oil pipeline after a drone strike that both Riyadh and Baghdad say was launched from Iraqi territory where Iran-aligned armed groups operate. The shutdown affects a major route for Saudi crude that avoids the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has taken one of its main oil arteries offline after a drone attack that both Riyadh and Baghdad link to Iranian-backed groups operating from Iraq.

The world’s largest crude exporter has temporarily shut the East–West pipeline following the strike, according to Reuters. Saudi and Iraqi officials say the drone was launched from Iraqi territory, where armed groups supported by Iran are active.

The East–West line, also known as the Petroline, carries crude from producing areas in eastern Saudi Arabia to export terminals on the Red Sea. By running across the kingdom instead of through the Gulf, it provides an alternative path to global markets that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

Officials have not released a public assessment of the damage or a timetable for restarting flows. The decision to close the pipeline nonetheless points to either physical harm that requires repair or security concerns that make continued operation too risky for now.

In Iraq, the government has dismissed a military commander in response to the attack, signalling that Baghdad sees the use of its territory for a strike on Saudi infrastructure as a serious failure of control.

The outage underlines how vulnerable inland pipelines and backup export routes are to relatively low-cost drones launched from hundreds of kilometres away. Hitting a line designed to reduce dependence on Hormuz shows that alternative routes can themselves become targets.

Key questions now are how quickly Saudi Arabia can safely restart the East–West pipeline and whether Iraq takes further steps to rein in Iran-aligned armed groups on its soil. Any prolonged shutdown, or a follow-on attack on other energy facilities, would deepen concerns about the resilience of global oil supply routes.