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Iraqi security forces have seized a drone launching platform used in the attack that shut Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, Lieutenant General Saad Maan said on Saturday. Maan, who heads Iraq's Security Media Cell, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency that an intelligence and security task force tracked down and recovered the launch equipment. Forensic experts are still working to identify who carried out the strike.
Several drones launched from Iraq hit the pipeline on Thursday in the Riyadh and Medina regions, Saudi authorities said. The strikes caused a number of injuries. Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry confirmed on Friday that it had shut the line as a precaution while teams assessed its safety.
The 745 mile route carries between 4 and 5 percent of global oil supply. It was the kingdom's main way to move crude to the Red Sea without using the Strait of Hormuz, which has been partially closed since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in late February. Oil ended the week above $100 a barrel, the first time since mid-May.
Saudi authorities traced the launch site to Maysan province in southeastern Iraq, near the Iranian border. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the province's military commander. Al Jazeera reported that the provincial police chief was removed as well, and that a group of security commanders in Maysan is now under investigation.
Baghdad closed three crossings into Iran after the launch sites were found: Shalamcheh in Basra, al-Shib in Maysan and Mandali in Diyala. They were later partially reopened for humanitarian traffic. Al-Zaidi also approved an Iranian request to join the investigation and review its findings.
No group has claimed the attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body of Iran-aligned armed groups, denied involvement. President Donald Trump, speaking during a visit to Ireland, said Iran was probably behind the strike but offered no evidence. Saudi Arabia said it would hold off on retaliating after a request from al-Zaidi, while reserving the right to act.
Maan said Iraq would not allow its territory to be used against other countries. "Iraq adopts the principle of preventive sovereignty," he said.
The pipeline strike came in the same week that Houthi forces took the port of Mocha and Perim island in the Bab el Mandeb Strait, giving them effective control of Yemen's Red Sea coastline. Kuwait called the pipeline attack a dangerous escalation for the region.
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