Saudi Arabia gave Iraq flight data for the pipeline drones, Araji says

BAGHDAD — Saudi Arabia supplied Iraq with the timing of the drone attack on its oil pipeline, the launch and impact coordinates and the flight paths, and Iraqi investigators have found the launch platforms, the prime minister’s security adviser said, answering claims from within the governing alliance that the government had no evidence.

“The technology is clear. It indicates where the launch took place and where the impact occurred, in addition to intelligence sources that led us to the launch bases,” Qasim al-Araji told Dijlah TV. “The results of the investigation will determine the party responsible.” Intelligence sources and technical surveillance led investigators to the sites independently of the Saudi material, he said.

The findings are being withheld deliberately. “The information we have is not for publication, and it will be presented to the prime minister,” Araji said. “There is evidence and there are some important points, and the committee is continuing its work. There are indeed launch platforms, but the government does not want to announce the results before the real suspects are arrested, so that the picture is complete and so there is no leak of information.” Investigators are examining who visited the locations where the platforms were found. “They are not angels who came down from the sky,” he said. “They must be on the ground.”

He put the cost to Saudi operations at 5 million barrels of pumping halted, and defended the dismissals in Maysan. “When there is negligence, we do not hold the rank-and-file member accountable; we hold the operations commander and the police chief accountable.”

The Badr parliamentary bloc accused the government of unjustified haste in accepting the Saudi account before technical investigations were complete, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq denied involvement and said Baghdad was relying on no reliable evidence, offering to join any investigative committee.

Saudi Arabia said drones launched from Iraqi territory struck its East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Sept. 11, causing injuries and material damage, and said it would not retaliate at that stage after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi asked for time, while reserving the right to protect its territory. Iraqi authorities said the drones came from Maysan governorate, which borders Iran. Zaidi dismissed the Maysan Operations commander and the police chief and referred the heads of local security agencies for investigation, and three crossings with Iran were closed before reopening in stages. Security Media Cell chief Saad Maan said an intelligence committee was using forensic evidence, fingerprints and technical analysis to identify those responsible.