# Saudi Arabia shuts its backup oil route

> Drones from Iraq hit the pipeline Riyadh was using to dodge the Hormuz lockdown, and oil pushed past $100.
- Title: Saudi Arabia shuts its backup oil route · the Guardian
- Summary: Drones from Iraq hit the pipeline Riyadh was using to dodge the Hormuz lockdown, and oil pushed past $100. The Gulf's workaround route is now a target too…
- Keywords: saudi arabia, oil, iran, houthis, shipping, news, world, Saudi, Arabia, shuts, backup, route
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/12/saudi-arabia-shuts-down-oil-pipeline-blaming-drones-from-iraq
- Published: 2026-09-12T15:35:12+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: saudi arabia, oil, iran, houthis, shipping, news, world
## The bypass route goes dark
Saudi Arabia halted the 745-mile East-West pipeline after drone strikes, calling the shutdown a precaution. It was the kingdom's main way around the closed strait of Hormuz.

> stopped as a precaution
## Abqaiq to Yanbu, doubled
The line runs across the Arabian peninsula from Abqaiq near the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. The IEA says exports through Yanbu have more than doubled since the war began.
## Drones came from Iraq
Riyadh said several drones from Iraq hit the pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions, injuring people. Satellite images on Thursday showed black smoke along the route south of Medina.

> the targeting of the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones coming from Iraq
## Baghdad fires a commander
Iraq confirmed the attacks launched from its soil, ordered an investigation and dismissed the commander of Maysan province. Trump said he thought Tehran was behind it.

> I think they are, probably they are
## Houthis take Perim island
Yemen's Houthi forces seized Perim in the Bab al-Mandab strait, widening their grip on the Europe-Asia shipping lane. They say passage is safe for everyone except Saudi Arabia.
## Oil past $100, diesel past $6
Crude climbed above $100 a barrel this week and average US diesel topped $6 for the first time on Friday, an awkward number for Trump ahead of November's midterms.
## Two chokepoints, one grip
The failed US-Israeli push to topple Iran's government has left Tehran and its allies squeezing both Hormuz and the Red Sea. Gulf states called the strike a dangerous escalation.

> a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable threat to the security of the Kingdom
## Key takeaway

The Gulf's workaround route is now a target too, so there is no longer a safe way out for Saudi crude.