Iraqi Militias Join The Iran War As The Fire Rises

Just more than six months into the fighting another player has reportedly entered the arena in the Iran war.

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have struck the Saudi Arabian East-West pipeline with drones, which has been a critical blow-off valve for oil since the war began, CNN reported, citing two U.S. officials. The report was corroborated by satellite images recently posted on X. The new attack from the Iraqi militias compounds on the current pressure being applied to the Saudis by the Houthi Rebels, who have also been conducting strikes on Saudi-owned oil refineries, storage facilities and pipelines since July.

Although it currently remains unconfirmed who launched the strikes on the Saudi Aramco pipeline, the drones came from Iraq, CNN reported, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Embassy in Washington and the Iraqi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The extent of the damage to the East-West pipeline remains a mystery, as it is “not immediately clear” how long it will take to repair the damage, CNN reported, citing the U.S. officials.

The East-West Pipeline had already been pushed to its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels per day during the first quarter of 2026 as Saudi Arabia attempted to bypass disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser described the pipeline as a “critical supply artery” that had helped mitigate the global energy shock, according to Aramco.

Saudi Arabia has recently taken center stage in the Iran war, as it has become embroiled in hostilities with the Houthi Rebels. The Houthis have made serious advances within Yemen, taking over the entire coastline, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Yanbu is a major Saudi Arabian oil-export hub on the kingdom’s western Red Sea coast and the terminus of the East-West Pipeline, which carries crude from producing regions in eastern Saudi Arabia across the country to the Red Sea. The route allows Saudi oil exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz entirely, making Yanbu increasingly important as shipping through the Persian Gulf remains disrupted.

Saudi crude and condensate loadings from the Red Sea port of Yanbu climbed to an estimated 3.7 million barrels per day in early September, according to Vortexa data cited by Reuters. Yanbu has increasingly served as the kingdom’s primary escape route for oil around the crippled Strait of Hormuz.

Yanbu itself is also increasingly exposed as the Houthis expand their reach along the Red Sea. The group has seized territory around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, including Mayun Island, while maintaining a declared naval blockade on Saudi vessels, and has already demonstrated the missile and drone capability to strike oil facilities deep inside Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.

Any sustained Houthi campaign against shipping moving to or from Yanbu could therefore threaten the kingdom’s principal alternative export route around the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia’s crude supply plunged by 2.3 million barrels per day in August to roughly 6 million barrels per day, its lowest level in more than three decades, while the agency cut its forecast for Saudi crude supply this year by 885,000 barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.

While it remains unclear who or what group launched the strikes, they may have originated from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF is an Iraqi militia that has ties to Iran, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Although the U.S. military has not resumed direct attacks on the Houthis, it has allegedly begun providing targeting data for the Saudi Arabian Air Force, CNN reported, citing five sources familiar with the operations. More than 100 US military advisers are currently located in Saudi Arabia, aiding the kingdom in targeting the Houthis, according to the outlet.

The Houthis have survived previous attempts by the U.S. military to destroy their ability to threaten Red Sea shipping. The Pentagon conducted more than 1,000 strikes against Houthi targets during the Trump administration’s 2025 campaign before an Oman-brokered agreement ended the operation in May, according to the Pentagon.

The Houthi rebels attacked U.S. warships over 170 times and commercial vessels 145 times between 2023 and 2025, former Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said during a press conference on March 17, 2025.

The U.S. military launched precision airstrikes that aimed to decapitate the leadership of the rebel group on March 15, Parnell said.

The Houthis kicked off their naval campaign against Saudi shipping with a bang on July 22, striking the Saudi-owned Encelia oil tanker. The vessel caught fire after the strike, according to videos posted on X.

With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz severely constrained, Saudi Arabia has increasingly rerouted crude through its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea, helping push oil flows through Bab el-Mandeb from roughly 5.4 million barrels per day in late 2025 to 8.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.