Satellite image reveals major damage that shut crucial oil pipeline

Satellite imagery shows a major lipid pipeline in Saudi Arabia severely damaged after an assault last week. Experts told BBC Verify that repairs could take much more than a period and that the disruption may push oil prices higher. The most significant damage appears at a pumping station on the East‑West Pipeline, a route Saudi Arabia has increasingly used to export crude oil via the Red Sea rather than through the Strait of Hormuz. Vessels moving through that strait have been targeted by Iran and the United States during their six‑month conflict. Saudi authorities blamed Iranian‑backed militias in Iraq for the pipeline strike, noting it followed several days of renewed rocket and drone attacks on the kingdom’s south‑west by Yemen’s Houthi movement, which is also supported by Iran. In response, Saudi forces have conducted strikes against Houthi‑held areas in western Yemen. Additional satellite pictures reveal damage to King Khalid Air Base after a Houthi assault last week. On Tuesday, Saudi officials said they would respond “firmly” to any further Houthi attacks. Although the Houthis have been engaged in a prolonged civil war against Saudi‑backed Yemeni pro‑government forces, the group has intensified its campaign in recent weeks. It seized control of strategically important territory along Yemen’s south‑western coastline last week, including positions overlooking the Bab al‑Mandab waterway. This advance bolsters their ability to enforce the declared blockade on Saudi shipping.