# A drone strike shuts Saudi Arabia's oil back door

> Drones from Iraq closed the one pipeline letting Saudi crude skip the Strait of Hormuz, and Baghdad is scrambling.
- Title: A drone strike shuts Saudi Arabia's oil back door | Shortify
- Summary: Drones from Iraq closed the one pipeline letting Saudi crude skip the Strait of Hormuz, and Baghdad is scrambling. Saudi Arabia's workaround for a blocked…
- Keywords: oil, iran, iraq, saudi arabia, middle east, news, local, drone, strike, shuts, Saudi, Arabia's
- Source: ABC7 Chicago — https://abc7chicago.com/post/saudi-pipeline-attack-iraq-races-contain-fallout-iran-backed-militias-accused-attacking-east-west-oil/19823178
- Published: 2026-09-12T12:25:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: oil, iran, iraq, saudi arabia, middle east, news, local
## Baghdad scrambles after the hit
Iraq's government moved fast to limit the damage after Iran-backed militias were accused of striking a Saudi oil pipeline, shutting the kingdom's main alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
## Denials, but from our soil
An umbrella group of Iran-backed militias denied involvement. Iraq's government confirmed the attacks came from Iraqi territory, promised an investigation and fired two senior officials.
## Squeezed at both ends
The pipeline strike landed as Yemen's Houthis pressed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint carrying about 12% of global trade. Regional officials say the two groups recently coordinated attacks on Saudi Arabia.
## Trump points at Iran, then soothes
With oil prices already high after six months of war, Trump said Iran was "probably" behind the strike but played down the risk, saying the Houthis had called and were letting most ships pass.

> The Houthis called us, and they don't want to fight with us
## Tehran keeps its distance
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at the BRICS summit in India, framed the fight as someone else's problem entirely.

> We are not in war with Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have their own problems
## A disarmament deadline nobody respects
Iraq told nonstate groups to disarm by Sept. 30. Several of the most powerful militias, including the Iran-backed ones, have already said they will not comply.
## Heads roll in Maysan
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the operations command of Maysan province on the Iranian border, and dismissed both its commander and the provincial police chief.
## Saudi holds its fire
Riyadh shut the pipeline as a "precautionary measure" after drone strikes it traced to Iraq, but said it would not retaliate, giving Baghdad room to act. Kuwait, the UAE, Oman and Egypt condemned the attack.
## Why this pipeline matters
Built in the 1980s, the East-West line carries crude to the Red Sea. Saudi exports from that port had more than doubled to over 5 million barrels a day by early June, per the IEA.
## Borders close, talks stall
Iraq shut the Shalamcheh and Chazabeh crossings with Iran. A Gulf meeting on Hormuz shipping is set for Monday, but Bahrain says it will not sit at any table with Iran until relations are restored.

> The waterway would be opened up on the condition that the U.S. will terminate its blockade
## Key takeaway

Saudi Arabia's workaround for a blocked Strait of Hormuz is now itself a target, which puts a floor under oil prices and pressure on Baghdad to disarm militias it cannot control.