Saudi Arabia temporarily shut its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after multiple drone attacks on Thursday in the Riyadh and Medina regions. Saudi authorities said the drones were launched from Iraq and caused injuries and damage. The pipeline links Abqaiq near the Gulf to Yanbu on the Red Sea and has served as a route around the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the regional war Citation 1 from dawn.com[1]Citation 2 from bbc.co.uk[2]Citation 3 from theguardian.com[3]. Saudi officials described the shutdown as a precaution while emergency and technical teams assess the facilities Citation 4 from saudigazette.com.sa[4]Citation 5 from thenationalnews.com[5].
Satellite imagery showed smoke and fire damage near the pipeline route. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reportedly seized Perim island at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait Citation 6 from abc.net.au[6]Citation 7 from humenglish.com[7].