Satellites picked up nine large fires burning near Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline on Thursday, September 10, 2026. At least six sat where flare pits are located, the places where oil and gas can be burned off in an emergency. The rest were the kind of smoke plume that CNN said weather imagery showed drifting from the line.
By Friday the Saudi Ministry of Energy had confirmed what the images suggested. The pipeline “was subjected to multiple attacks” on Thursday that “resulted in a number of injuries,” the ministry said in a statement on its website, and it was “shut down as a precautionary measure.” Crews were working to secure the line and assess its safety.
Drones from Iraq
Two US officials told CNN the pipeline system was hit by projectiles. An early analysis found the pump stations beside the pipeline took the strikes, one of them said. A satellite image from Friday appeared to show extensive fire damage at one pumping station, and a Thursday image of another, near Al Dhekra, showed a small fire throwing up thick black smoke.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs later condemned an attack on the line in the Riyadh and Madinah regions by “several drones coming from Iraq,” causing injuries and damage it said was being addressed. Al Jazeera, citing AFP, reported the same statement. Riyadh said it would hold its response for now, at the request of the Iraqi prime minister, to give Baghdad room to act, while reserving the right to take any measure needed to protect its sovereignty and critical facilities.
Iraq’s government condemned the attacks in a statement carried by the state news agency INA and ordered an urgent investigation. It said it would not allow its territory or airspace to be used for such strikes. On Saturday, Iraqi security authorities said they had closed a number of the country’s borders as a precaution.
Who launched the drones was not settled. Asked in Dublin, President Donald Trump said Iran was probably behind it: “I think they are, probably they are.” Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told CNN that Iran-allied militias in Iraq have flown drones at Saudi Arabia before.
Why this line matters
The East-West pipeline has become the kingdom’s workaround since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. According to CNN, Saudi Arabia has rerouted about 5 million barrels of oil per day that would otherwise have gone to tankers in the Persian Gulf, sending it instead across the country to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
That outlet is under pressure too. Al Jazeera reported that Yemen’s Houthis, who targeted Saudi Arabia this week, took control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast and captured three strategic islands on Friday. CNN added that Houthi fighters have said they would target any Saudi ships leaving the Red Sea through Bab al-Mandeb.
Sources told CNN it was not clear how long repairs would take, or whether the pipeline itself, as opposed to the pump stations, was damaged. US officials and experts said fixing pump stations would likely be less burdensome than major damage to the line. Oil prices had already surged past $100 a barrel earlier in the week, and Saudi Arabia had reported to OPEC that its crude output last month fell to the lowest level since 1990. Aramco did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Sources
- Saudi oil pipeline shut down after attack triggers fires | CNN Politics
- Saudi Arabia says East-West pipeline hit by drones launched from Iraq | Conflict News | Al Jazeera
