Cairo, 12 September 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West Pipeline as a precaution after reporting attacks on the strategically important oil link.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the pipeline - which is capable of transporting oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea, bypassing the effectively blockaded Strait of Hormuz - was hit by drones coming from Iraq. 

Several people were injured in the attack in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Thursday, and the pipeline was damaged, the ministry said on X.

The ministry did not say who was behind the attack. A number of Iran-backed militias are operating in Iraq.

The Saudi ministry said that, at the request of its neighbour, it would not currently take any action against the attackers in Iraq.

The Iraqi authorities would first be given the opportunity to take measures themselves to prevent future attacks, it said.

The pipeline, which measures more than 1,200 kilometres and has a capacity of up to 7 million barrels per day, was reportedly also attacked in late July by Iranian-aligned groups operating from Iraq. 

It has taken on even greater importance since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Riyadh using the pipeline to reroute oil that would otherwise have been destined for tankers to carry it through the Strait of Hormuz.

CNN reported, citing US government officials, that pumping stations located alongside the pipeline were struck by drones launched from Iraq. 

Satellite images appear to show that fires may have broken out, CNN said. It is unclear whether the pipeline has been damaged.

The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) declined to comment on the report.

With a production rate of around 10 million barrels a day, Saudi Arabia was the world's second-largest oil producer after the US before the Iran war.

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