Saudi Arabia shuts critical oil pipeline after drone attack: What happened

Saudi Arabia has temporarily closed its critical East-West oil pipeline, a 1,200km (746-mile) conduit stretching across the Arabian Peninsula, after it was attacked by drones on Friday.The drones were reported to have been launched from Iraq, where an investigation is under way. No group has claimed responsibility for the strikes so far.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why Pakistan is talking to Iran as the Houthi-Saudi fight escalateslist 2 of 3Houthis take control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, reports saylist 3 of 3Houthis declare Red Sea shipping safe except for Saudi vesselsend of listPlumes of smoke from a section of the pipeline could be seen on video footage from the area.The closure of the pipeline has halted the flow of Saudi oil exports, which have also been disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since March. A critical artery for the kingdom’s energy exports, it has become all the more important due to the US-Israel war on Iran.The closure of its pipeline comes as Saudi Arabia is drawn into a new front in the Middle East conflict in Yemen, where Houthi forces have made rapid advances along the coast against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and...