BAGHDAD — Iraq’s government was racing Saturday to contain the fallout after local Iran-backed militias were accused of attacking and shuttering a key Saudi pipeline. Iraq’s government confirmed the attacks had originated from its territory, pledged to investigate and dismissed a military commander.
The country is under mounting pressure to prevent local militias from aiding other Iran proxy groups across the region. It’s especially acute as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels make an advance across Yemen’s west coast in a major setback to the Saudi-backed coalition that risks escalating the war in the region.
The Iraqi government has set a September 30 deadline for nonstate groups to disarm, but several of the most powerful militias have said they will not comply.
The Houthis on Friday seized an island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping lane through which around 12% of global trade passes.
Their virtual control of the strait could send global oil prices — already inflated by the six-month Iran-US war — spiraling. The strait has become a vital commercial lane for Saudi oil ever since the Iran war disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
