Saudi Arabia has shut its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after an aerial attack, disrupting a vital crude export route as the widening US-Iran war chokes shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and raises fresh risks for global oil supplies. The world's largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that Baghdad and Riyadh said originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. Iraq on Saturday dismissed a military commander in response to the attack.
The pipeline, which stretches across the Arabian Peninsula, provides Saudi Arabia with a crucial alternative to shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has slowed to a trickle amid the war between the US and Iran. The Saudi energy ministry said it had shut the pipeline as a precaution. The line has been moving 4 million to 5 million barrels per day in recent months, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply, according to ship tracking companies and analysts.
The attack comes as Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen tightened their grip in the Red Sea, which, combined with the Strait of Hormuz disruptions, has put an energy squeeze on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula and sent global oil prices back above $100 per barrel. Four Yemeni government sources told that the dual attacks reported on Friday - on the pipeline and Perim island - could represent a dangerous escalation while diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled.
Saudi Arabia has asked Washington for military help with the Houthis, sources said, at a time when higher fuel prices during the war have already exacted a political toll on US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November congressional elections.