Saudi Arabia has temporarily closed its critical East-West oil pipeline, a 1,200km (746-mile) conduit stretching across the Arabian Peninsula, after it was attacked by drones on Friday,
Al Jazeera reports.
The drones were reported to have been launched from Iraq, where an investigation is under way. No group has claimed responsibility for the strikes so far.
Plumes of smoke from a section of the pipeline could be seen on video footage from the area. It is understood that equipment used to operate the pipeline was also hit.
The closure of the pipeline has halted the flow of Saudi oil exports, which have also been disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since March. A critical artery for the kingdom’s energy exports, it has become all the more important due to the US-Israel war on Iran.
The closure of its pipeline comes as Saudi Arabia is drawn into a new front in the Middle East conflict in Yemen, where Houthi forces have made rapid advances along the coast against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and seized the strategic island of Mayun in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
