Saudi Arabia Shuts Key East-West Oil Pipeline After a Drone Attack From Iraq

Saudi Arabia shut down its East-West oil pipeline on Friday after drones launched from Iraq struck it, removing a main route that lets the world’s largest crude exporter bypass the Strait of Hormuz, NBC News reported. Oil prices ended the week above $100 a barrel for the first time since mid-May.

The pipeline runs about 745 miles across the kingdom to the Red Sea side. Reuters, cited by NBC, said it has been moving between 4 percent and 5 percent of global oil supplies. NBC said about 20 percent of the world’s oil used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz before the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in late February.

Iraq’s prime minister’s office said investigations confirmed that the attacks originated from Iraq and dismissed an Iraqi military commander early Saturday, NBC reported. An umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias denied involvement. President Donald Trump said, without evidence, that Iran was probably behind the attack.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said its teams were taking the necessary measures to secure the pipeline and assess its safety. At the request of Iraq’s prime minister, Saudi Arabia will not retaliate for now, but it reserves the right to take measures to protect its sovereignty, security and critical facilities. Kuwait called the attack a dangerous escalation, and Bahrain backed Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself, NBC reported. Iraq closed two border crossings with Iran.

The attack came as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen made rapid gains. The Houthis captured the port city of Mocha and Perim, an island in the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, and advanced on the coastal town of Dhubab, NBC reported. NBC described an apparent withdrawal of Yemen’s government forces from the island. The International Organization for Migration says at least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week.

For American drivers the consequences run through the pump. Gasoline reached a record $4.14 a gallon over Labor Day weekend, and diesel set an all-time record, according to AAA figures reported by the Associated Press. A route that bypasses Hormuz has now been shut, and Bab el-Mandeb, at the entrance to the Red Sea, is the site of the Houthi advance. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman reportedly urged Trump to take military action against the Houthis, according to an unnamed person familiar with the matter, NBC said.