In the latest development, reports indicate that drone strikes originating in Iraq are responsible for the shutdown of a major oil pipeline by Saudi Arabia. The catch? This pipeline is a major bypass around the Strait of Hormuz, moving oil instead to ports in the Red Sea.
The crucial East-West pipeline can carry up to 7 million barrels of crude a day 750 miles from Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing heartland on the Persian Gulf to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said several drones caused injuries and damage that the kingdom was repairing, and that the drones were fired from Iraq.
