Egypt on Saturday 12 September 2026 condemned in the strongest terms the attacks targeting the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Medina regions, affirming its full solidarity with the Kingdom and its support for it in confronting anything that threatens its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said targeting the pipeline constituted a flagrant violation of international law and undermined regional security and stability, stressing Cairo’s support for Riyadh in confronting threats targeting its territory and facilities.
Saudi Arabia suspends East-West pipeline after attacks
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry had announced that the East-West pipeline was targeted several times on the morning of Thursday 10 September 2026 in the Riyadh and Medina regions, prompting its precautionary suspension, while technical and emergency teams began securing the pipeline and checking its safety.
A Saudi Energy Ministry official said the attacks had caused injuries, adding that those injured had received medical care, while the relevant authorities had begun addressing the damage caused by the attacks and assessing the safety of the pipeline’s facilities. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the attack had been carried out by several drones arriving from Iraqi territory and had caused injuries and some material damage, which the relevant authorities were working to repair.
Riyadh postpones response and calls on Baghdad to act
Riyadh said it had chosen not to respond at this stage and to support the Iraqi government’s efforts, in response to the Iraqi prime minister’s request that his government be given an opportunity to take the necessary measures to prevent attacks launched from Iraqi territory towards Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries from recurring.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also stressed that the Kingdom retained the right to take all measures necessary to protect its sovereignty, security, facilities, citizens and residents. For its part, the Iraqi government condemned the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and affirmed its rejection of the use of Iraqi territory or airspace as a launching point for attacks on neighbouring countries or actions harming regional security.
Iraq investigates drone launch site
Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces, announced that preliminary investigations had established that the attacks were launched from a site inside Maysan province in the south-east of the country. He added that Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi had ordered the formation of a senior investigative committee and the adoption of tighter security measures in response to the incident.
According to al-Numan, the orders included dismissing Maysan’s police chief and the directors of the province’s security agencies and referring them for investigation, as well as tightening controls at the borders and border crossings and preventing any activity launched from inside Iraq that threatens the security of Iraqi provinces or neighbouring countries.
The Iraqi spokesman affirmed that the security and intelligence services were continuing operations to track down those involved, in preparation for arresting them and referring them to the judiciary. Lieutenant General Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, also announced that a platform inside Iraqi territory had been seized, saying it had been used to carry out the attack, while field and intelligence efforts continued to identify those responsible.
Egypt’s condemnation came among Arab and Gulf positions affirming support for Saudi Arabia’s security and sovereignty and rejecting attacks on its civilian and economic facilities, alongside the measures announced by Baghdad to investigate the attacks and prevent its territory from being used to carry out similar attacks.
