Iraq relieves Maysan Operations Commander following attacks on the Kingdom
Iraq has announced the removal of the Maysan Operations Commander from his post and the formation of an investigative committee regarding the command, following an official statement confirming that the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia were launched from a site within the province. The spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sabah al-Numan, announced the directive after midnight, which was followed later on Saturday by a second directive to relieve the Maysan Police Chief and transfer the directors of security agencies in the province to the command for investigation. No names were mentioned in either statement.
On Friday evening, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the East-West pipeline was targeted by several drones coming from Iraq in the Riyadh and Medina regions, and that the attack caused human casualties and material damage. The ministry stated that the Kingdom chose not to respond at this stage in response to the request of the Iraqi Prime Minister and in support of the Iraqi government's efforts, while reserving its right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security, and facilities.
As for the pipeline itself, the Ministry of Energy suspended it as a precautionary measure following the attack, and emergency and technical teams began securing the route and verifying its integrity. No date for resumption of operations has been announced yet, and no official figure for casualties or an official estimate of the extent of the damage has been released.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and neither Riyadh nor Baghdad has named any party. Information attributed to undisclosed sources regarding the perpetrators or damage to pumping stations has not been issued in any official statement and should be treated as such.
The East-West pipeline extends about 1,200 kilometers from Abqaiq to Yanbu and transports oil to the Red Sea coast; therefore, its suspension is an export issue, not a local supply issue, and no official body has announced a decrease in exports. If you are tracking the impact, the information you are waiting for is the Ministry of Energy's statement on the resumption of operations, not the circulating estimates.