After Saudi Oil Pipeline Attack, Baghdad Confirms Launch Site in Maysan and Dismisses Operations Commander
Euro Times – Baghdad/Riyadh
The crisis surrounding attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline has entered a more sensitive phase inside Iraq after the Iraqi government announced that investigations had established that the attacks targeting the kingdom were launched from a location in the southern province of Maysan. Baghdad ordered the dismissal of the province’s operations commander and the formation of an investigative council into the conduct of the operations command.
The Iraqi announcement marks an important escalation in the case. It came after Saudi Arabia said that several drones launched from Iraqi territory had targeted the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions, causing injuries and damage before the kingdom halted the pipeline as a precaution.
Baghdad moves from investigation to confirming the launch site
The office of the Iraqi prime minister announced that investigations had established that the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia were launched from a site inside Maysan province.
According to the Iraqi statement, an order was issued dismissing the commander of Maysan Operations. The prime minister, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, also ordered the formation of an investigative council into the Maysan Operations Command.
Reuters confirmed the decision, reporting that the Iraqi military commander responsible for operations in Maysan had been dismissed after the investigation established that the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia had been launched from Iraq.
The announcement changes the nature of the case. Baghdad is no longer dealing only with Saudi information about the origin of the drones; it has acknowledged that its own investigation identified a launch site inside Iraqi territory.
Saudi Arabia: the drones came from Iraq
Saudi Arabia said the East-West pipeline had been attacked in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones launched from Iraq. According to Reuters, the kingdom decided not to retaliate at this stage after a request from the Iraqi prime minister to give Baghdad time to take the necessary measures to prevent Iraqi territory from being used to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia and neighboring states. Riyadh said it retained the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security, infrastructure and population.
The Saudi Energy Ministry had earlier announced a precautionary shutdown of the pipeline after several strikes, saying the attacks caused injuries and that emergency and technical teams had begun work to secure the line and verify its safety.
CNN cited US officials as saying that a preliminary assessment indicated pumping stations near the pipeline had been struck and that satellite imagery showed fire-related damage at sites connected to the attack.
Why Maysan matters
Maysan lies in southeastern Iraq along the border with Iran, giving the identification of the province as the launch area considerable security and political significance. The Iraqi statement, however, did not specify the exact location inside the province from which the drones were launched and did not name the group responsible for the attacks.
Did Baghdad close the border?
Reports circulated about tightened border measures after the attack, but at the time of publication there was no reliable official confirmation that the Iraqi government had fully closed Iraq’s borders because of the strike on the Saudi pipeline.
What appeared on social media inside Maysan?
Euro Times also monitored material published by local Iraqi platforms, particularly pages and channels that closely follow events in Maysan. Among the details circulating were posts about security developments and movements inside the province, but some of those claims have yet to receive independent official confirmation.
Local reports also circulated about sites or individuals in the province as security activity intensified, prompting security authorities to deny some of the claims. The more consequential question is now: who launched the drones?
With Baghdad confirming that the attack was launched from Maysan, the investigation now moves to its most sensitive question: which group possessed the drones and launched them from the province?
The answer will be decisive for both Iraq and Saudi Arabia. If the investigation establishes the involvement of an Iraqi armed faction linked to Iran, the case would no longer amount merely to a security breach. It would become a direct test of the Iraqi government’s ability to prevent armed groups from using the country’s territory to open a regional front against Saudi Arabia as part of the Iran-US war.
Riyadh’s position will likewise depend on whether Iraqi measures identify those responsible and prevent a repeat of the attacks, or whether Saudi Arabia concludes that Baghdad’s actions are insufficient and returns to the option of retaliation that it has explicitly said remains available.
A strategic pipeline under fire
The seriousness of the attack is amplified by the nature of the target. The East-West pipeline extends for roughly 1,200 kilometres from the oil fields of eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and is one of the kingdom’s most important strategic alternatives for moving oil away from the Strait of Hormuz.
the Financial Times reported that the pipeline shutdown following the attacks threatens a vital alternative route for Gulf crude exports at a time of increasing pressure on Hormuz and the Red Sea.
The fact that the pipeline was targeted by drones launched from Iraq, while the Houthis advance near Bab el-Mandeb and threaten the Red Sea route, places Saudi Arabia under pressure on several export corridors at the same time.
But the most important development in the latest hours is now inside Iraq itself: Baghdad says its investigation has established that the attacks were indeed launched from a site in Maysan and has punished a military commander over the failure.
The next step that will determine the course of the crisis is whether the Iraqi investigation identifies the group that launched the drones and whether Baghdad moves against it before Riyadh’s patience runs out.
