Iraq seizes drone-launching platform used for targeting Saudi oil pipeline

What the report says

Iraqi authorities said they have located and seized a drone-launching platform that was allegedly used in an attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline. The development was announced by Iraq’s Security Media Cell through the state-run Iraqi News Agency, with Lt. Gen. Saad Maan saying an intelligence and security task force had tracked down the equipment. He also said forensic and technical work was continuing to identify those responsible.

According to the report, Saudi authorities traced the launch site to Maysan province in southeastern Iraq, close to the Iranian border. Al Jazeera said Iraqi officials pointed to the al-Tayeb border district, near the Sheeb crossing east of Amara, as the likely launch area. The article said the drones struck pipeline infrastructure in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Thursday, injuring several people, and led Saudi Arabia to shut the pipeline as a precaution.

The pipeline is strategically important because it carries a significant share of global oil supplies and gives Saudi Arabia an alternative route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz. Iraqi officials said they were sharing intelligence with Saudi counterparts and described their approach as preventing Iraqi territory from being used in attacks on other countries.

The report also said Iraq temporarily closed several border crossings with Iran after the strike and later partially reopened them for humanitarian traffic. It added that Iraqi authorities reshuffled some military commanders in border areas as the investigation continued. As background, Iraq has often faced pressure from armed groups operating near its borders, making security coordination with neighboring states a recurring issue.