Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline attacked by Houthis; Satellite images show massive smoke plume

While tensions remain high in the Middle East as the United States (US) and Iran continue trading strikes against each other, Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline corridor which is in the southeast of Medina was targeted by Houthi rebels, said media reports on Friday.

Saudi authorities have not yet confirmed the strikes but regional analysts and experts have analyzed satellite imagery to verify the strikes. The viral images on social media platforms showed a huge plume of smoke near the Petroline’s route toward Mahd adh-Dhahab.

"The Houthis seem to have hit Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, which carries crude from Abqaiq on the Gulf coast to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Six locations along the pipeline route were identified with multiple fire hotspots at about the same time, around 17:56 UTC. Large smoke plumes were also seen in the attached NOAA-20 & MODIS satellite imagery,” @EGYOSINT, an OSINT account based out of Egypt on X, said while sharing a video and photos.

However the images can’t be independently verified by

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The East-West Pipeline corridor, also known as the Petroline, is very important for Saudi Arabia, as it offers the Kingdom an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained blocked since the beginning of the US-Iran war.The pipeline is 1,200 km (750 miles) long and has 13 pumping stations capable of pumping some 7 million barrels a day.

Based in Yemen, the Houthis have persisted with attacks on Saudi Arabia and have taken a Red Sea island, Perim, in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb shipping lane. The Iran-backed group has warned against hitting ships from Saudi Arabia as tensions with Riyadh are high.

“Government forces retreated from Mayyun Island yesterday and today boats with armed Houthi fighters arrived there,” a local government official told

The Houthis have finished taking over the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island, which is located in the middle of the strait.

Saudi Arabia, battling the Houthis, has asked the United States to strike the Iran-backed group. But President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected a request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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The report also said Washington will provide Riyadh with intelligence on the Houthis and targeting data and that more than 200 US military personnel are already in Saudi Arabia providing “non-kinetic support.”