Saudi Arabia was forced to close down a critical oil pipeline following a wave of drone attacks, as the kingdom faces a multi-pronged assault from Iran and its proxy terrorist groups.
Saudi Arabia’s 745-mile-long East-West pipeline, key to bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was shuttered after drone attacks blamed on Iranian-backed terror groups based in Iraq. “Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West pipeline after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher,” Reuters reported Saturday. “The world’s largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.”
Pumping station #11, E/W pipeline, southeast of Medina, KSA.
No comment. One pic = 1000 words#oott #oil #IranWar pic.twitter.com/TAvrj8aPMr
— Olivier Raevel (@ORaevel) September 12, 2026
The blazing Saudi pipeline could be seen from a great distance. “Satellite imagery indicates there were several fires yesterday along a 68-mile (109km) stretch of Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq-Yanbu oil pipeline, which connects the Gulf and Red Sea,” the BBC reported. Images posted on social media show “a large plume of black smoke emanating from the vicinity of pumping station about 45 miles (72km) south of Medina,” the broadcaster added.
The attack on the pipeline once again highlights the multi-pronged war Iran is waging on the U.S. and its allies in the region. Iranian terror proxies, from Hezbollah in Lebanon to Yemen’s Houthis, are taking their marching orders from Tehran and advancing its military objectives.
CNN reports that pumping stations on Saudi Arabia’s key east-west pipeline were hit on Thursday, with one severely damaged.
The pipeline currently carries 7+ million barrels of crude oil per day bypassing Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/t5fnZMGcgM
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 11, 2026
The attack comes as the Iran-backed Houthis tighten their control of a Red Sea waterway. On Friday, the Yemeni terrorist group seized the strategic Red Sea island of Perim, giving it greater control of the Bab al-Mandab strait.
“Yemen’s rampant Houthi forces have captured the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab strait, expanding their control of the narrow waterway, one of the world’s vital shipping routes,” The Guardian reported Saturday. “The Bab al-Mandab strait links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez canal. Perim island, also known as Mayun, divides the waterway in two, close to its narrowest point.”
Reporter: “Is Iran responsible for the attack on the East-West Pipeline? And when do you think Saudi Arabia is going to be able to get that —”
President Trump: “I think they are probably. They are on the balls of their feet right now, but I think they are. They’ve been in charge… pic.twitter.com/X6Ek0279bg
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) September 12, 2026
Faced with the Iranian threat to the Strait of Hormuz, maritime traffic increasingly relied on the Bab al-Mandab as a more secure alternative. Reuters described the Red Sea waterway as “one of the world’s most important routes for global seaborne commodity and goods shipments, particularly from Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.”
By maintaining their menacing presence at the Red Sea chokepoint, the Houthis advance Iran’s military goals: disrupting global oil trade and dominating the Gulf Arab states.
The Houthis just struck Saudi Arabia’s key oil pipeline.
Mainstream media is silent, but NASA satellite images are clear.
And 7% of the world’s oil supply goes through that pipe.
What happened + how it affects the West: 👇 pic.twitter.com/wE1QNVaRPi
— Craig Steinke (@Craig_Steinke) September 11, 2026
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