Saudi says drones launched from Iraq hit oil pipeline

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that drones launched from Iraq had struck the East-West pipeline, causing its shutdown and human injuries. The country's foreign ministry expressed strong condemnation, stating that "the targeting of the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones coming from Iraq, which caused human injuries and damage".

An energy ministry official informed the SPA news agency that the pipeline had been stopped as a precaution, resulting in some injuries. In response to the Iraqi prime minister's request, Riyadh opted not to retaliate at this stage and supported the Iraqi government's efforts to prevent attacks originating from Iraq against the Kingdom and neighboring nations.

The foreign ministry emphasized that Saudi Arabia would "reserve the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, its security, its facilities, and its inhabitants". The attacks, which took place on Thursday morning, left several individuals wounded. Saudi Arabia has intensified its utilization of this pipeline, connecting Abqaiq near the Gulf to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, since the inception of the Middle Eastern conflict, in order to circumvent the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.