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An Iraqi inquiry suspects the Quds Force; Pakistan's prime minister condemns "the Houthis"

Drones hit Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline. The reports we hold agree they flew from Iraq. Two name an attacker, they name different ones, and neither says it in its own voice.

Several Countries, Regional Organizations Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline
Several Countries, Regional Organizations Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline as published by Asharq Al-Awsat · seen at Asharq Al-Awsat
Levant & Iran Saudi Arabia Iraq Iran

The pipeline. Drone strikes damaged Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, the line that carries crude west to the Red Sea and around Hormuz. Asharq Al-Awsat reports Türkiye and the Yemeni cabinet condemning "the drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory", sourced to the Saudi Press Agency. An-Nahar carries Pakistan's prime minister backing "the Iraqi government's efforts to prevent its territory being used to attack the Kingdom". The ground is agreed on.

Who flew them is not.

Report Who it names At what distance
Al-Modon the Quds Force "suspicions" before an Iraqi high committee, the force in quotation marks
An-Nahar the Houthis Pakistan's prime minister's words on a phone call, relayed by the Saudi state agency
Asharq Al-Awsat no party — "Iraqi territory" the ground the drones came from, standing where an actor would go
The Jerusalem Post no party —
IRNA no party, and no mention of the attack —

The size. One report of the seven puts a figure on it. The Jerusalem Post says the strikes "could cut up to 4% of global oil supply" — a ceiling, not a loss counted. The rest give no figure at all.

Not settled. Who launched them: no report we hold carries a claim of responsibility, and none carries a denial. How much of the line is down, or when it restarts. Whether anyone at the site was hurt — no report says either way. Two of the seven are headlines with no text beneath them. And the date: the Jerusalem Post's text puts the strikes on 12 September, while the satellite image it carries is captioned 10 September.

In one sentence. Drones launched from Iraqi soil hit the pipeline Saudi Arabia built so that its oil would not have to leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz — and the governments talking about it do not agree on who sent them.

How it got here. The East-West pipeline runs from the oilfields of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province across the kingdom to the Red Sea coast. It exists as a bypass. The alternative route out of the Gulf is Hormuz, the narrow channel between Iran and Oman through which most Gulf crude is shipped. Both ends of the bypass are now contested. We reported on 11 September that An-Nahar had the Houthis — the movement that has held northern Yemen since 2014, and which a Saudi-led coalition fought from 2015 — claiming "completed control" of Bab al-Mandab, the strait at the Red Sea's southern mouth. On 12 September we reported Trump saying America controls Hormuz and Asharq Al-Awsat reporting Iran blockading it. The pipeline was the way around both. Now the pipeline has been hit.

Why each party is in it. Iraq because the drones flew from its territory: Asharq Al-Awsat reports Baghdad determined the launch site was in Missan province on the Iranian border, sacked the military commander there, and seized drones at a site in Anbar it says is "believed to belong to an armed faction". The Quds Force, named by Al-Modon, is the arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard that runs operations outside Iran, including alongside armed groups in Iraq. Pakistan is a long-standing security partner of the kingdom; Türkiye and the Yemeni cabinet condemned the strikes through the Saudi state agency.

What is at stake. Whether Baghdad can police its own ground, and whether Saudi Arabia's route around Hormuz still works. Naming Iran directly and naming Yemen point at different wars.

Where it stands. Iraq has closed three crossings with Iran and set out a timeline to reopen them. Nobody has claimed the attack.

The story so far

Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.

What is being argued about

  • Who launched the drones that hit the East-West pipeline, and why no report we hold answers it
  • Agreement that they flew from Iraqi territory, and the missing actor in that sentence
  • The single supply figure, 4%, and the word "could" attached to it
  • The Iraq-Iran crossings, reopened after the attack in one report and reopened without a reason in another
One day of reports, three accounts of the same dronesTimeline
  1. 2026-09-10— no time published EU Copernicus satellite An image captioned as black smoke rising over the East-West pipeline south of MedinaThe caption's own date, on the picture The Jerusalem Post carries
  2. 2026-09-12— no time published Unnamed Drone strikes damage the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regionsDated "yesterday" by The Jerusalem Post, which published on 13 September
  3. 2026-09-1304:37 published time Asharq Al-Awsat Türkiye and the Yemeni cabinet condemn "the drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory"Nobody named as launching them
  4. 2026-09-1306:50 published time Asharq Al-Awsat Headline: Iraq to reopen the Iran crossings after the drone attackA headline we hold with no text
  5. 2026-09-1307:22 published time Asharq Al-Awsat Headline: Iraq seizes drones and projectiles in its western desertA headline we hold with no text
  6. 2026-09-1311:50 published time Al-Modon An Iraqi high committee is weighing suspicions over the Quds Force's roleA suspicion under investigation, not a finding
  7. 2026-09-1312:22 published time An-Nahar Pakistan's prime minister condemns attacks on the Kingdom "by the Houthis" in a call with Mohammed bin SalmanA second attacker, named by a visiting government
  8. 2026-09-1313:50 published time IRNA Iraq announces passengers and trade resuming at the al-Sheeb, al-Shalamcheh and Mandali crossings with IranNo mention of what closed them
  9. 2026-09-1316:01 published time The Jerusalem Post The strikes "could cut up to 4% of global oil supply" up to 4%The only figure in any report we hold
Times are the times each report was published, in UTC.
Sources The Jerusalem Post
Centre-right estimate · not a score
The Jerusalem Post 🇮🇱IL · newspaper · independent Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at The Jerusalem Post → What we have measured A count the body does not carry the headline says eight countries; the sentence names seven foreign ministers ×1Actor framing The Gulf ministers are the ones acting. Iran is the party they meet. ×1Actor generalised The headline has 'Baghdad' celebrating. The photo caption says the crowd is supporters of one armed group. ×1Actor named names the militias and calls the act 'desecration', in its own voice ×1 from 4111 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Several Countries, Regional Organizations Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq to Reopen Iran Crossings After Drone Attack Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq Seizes Drones, Projectiles in Western Desert Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Al-Modon
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Al-Modon 🇱🇧LB · digital · تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Al-Modon → What we have measured Actor left unnamed a man is killed by an air strike in the headline with nobody named as striking; shelling and demolitions simply "continue" ×1Actor named The Israeli army is named as the shooter. ×1Actor named, action nominalised Israeli escalation is named but arrives as a wave, not as a doer ×1Affected people The only report that looks at people in the south: the explosions, the fear and the displacement. ×1 from 3381 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → An-Nahar
Centre estimate · not a score
An-Nahar 🇱🇧LB · newspaper · independent محمد بن سلمان وشهباز شريف يبحثان خفض التصعيد في المنطقة Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at An-Nahar → What we have measured Accused named the accused is named and his age is given ×1Accused named names the accused and gives his age ×1A contested finding relayed with the case still the prime minister's claim carried, with the court proceedings noted in the same sentence ×1Active voice and a toll in the background paragraph, the July strikes get named actors and counted dead — the only counted dead in this story ×1 from 10777 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency)
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) 🇮🇷IR · state agency · state-controlled عراق زمان ازسرگیری تبادلات تجاری در گذرگاه مرزی الشلامجه با ایران را اعلام کرد Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) → What we have measured A contested word in the headline "illegal" is a Chinese spokesperson's characterisation, carried unmarked in the headline ×1A contested word taken as the report's own "illegal" appears in the headline without quotation marks or attribution to the speaker ×1Acted upon, never acting police are named as acting; whoever hoarded a billion toman of staples is not named at all ×1Actor label The Houthi-run authority is called Yemen's transport ministry. ×1 from 15038 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The bias in this coverageBias

Three candidates for the same drones

An Iraqi inquiry is reported as suspecting the Quds Force; Pakistan's prime minister is quoted condemning attacks by the Houthis; the condemnation round-up names only Iraqi territory as the launch point. None of the three is stated as established. Two of the reports we hold have headlines and no body text.

2 reports naming a party as the attacker 1 reports naming only the launch territory 2 reports we hold with headline but no text

Measured in barrels

The fullest report we hold sizes the strike as up to 4% of global oil supply and higher fuel prices. No report in this set gives an injury or death figure at the pipeline. The one satellite image caption we hold describes smoke, not damage assessed on the ground.

0 reports giving a casualty figure 1 reports giving an oil or price figure
Scored without the mastheads. Where the two passes differ, both are kept.
Sources The Jerusalem Post
Centre-right estimate · not a score
The Jerusalem Post 🇮🇱IL · newspaper · independent Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at The Jerusalem Post → What we have measured A count the body does not carry the headline says eight countries; the sentence names seven foreign ministers ×1Actor framing The Gulf ministers are the ones acting. Iran is the party they meet. ×1Actor generalised The headline has 'Baghdad' celebrating. The photo caption says the crowd is supporters of one armed group. ×1Actor named names the militias and calls the act 'desecration', in its own voice ×1 from 4111 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Several Countries, Regional Organizations Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq Seizes Drones, Projectiles in Western Desert Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq to Reopen Iran Crossings After Drone Attack Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Al-Modon
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Al-Modon 🇱🇧LB · digital · تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Al-Modon → What we have measured Actor left unnamed a man is killed by an air strike in the headline with nobody named as striking; shelling and demolitions simply "continue" ×1Actor named The Israeli army is named as the shooter. ×1Actor named, action nominalised Israeli escalation is named but arrives as a wave, not as a doer ×1Affected people The only report that looks at people in the south: the explosions, the fear and the displacement. ×1 from 3381 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → An-Nahar
Centre estimate · not a score
An-Nahar 🇱🇧LB · newspaper · independent محمد بن سلمان وشهباز شريف يبحثان خفض التصعيد في المنطقة Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at An-Nahar → What we have measured Accused named the accused is named and his age is given ×1Accused named names the accused and gives his age ×1A contested finding relayed with the case still the prime minister's claim carried, with the court proceedings noted in the same sentence ×1Active voice and a toll in the background paragraph, the July strikes get named actors and counted dead — the only counted dead in this story ×1 from 10777 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency)
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) 🇮🇷IR · state agency · state-controlled عراق زمان ازسرگیری تبادلات تجاری در گذرگاه مرزی الشلامجه با ایران را اعلام کرد Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) → What we have measured A contested word in the headline "illegal" is a Chinese spokesperson's characterisation, carried unmarked in the headline ×1A contested word taken as the report's own "illegal" appears in the headline without quotation marks or attribution to the speaker ×1Acted upon, never acting police are named as acting; whoever hoarded a billion toman of staples is not named at all ×1Actor label The Houthi-run authority is called Yemen's transport ministry. ×1 from 15038 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →

Claims and verdicts

true The drones that hit the East-West pipeline were launched from Iraqi territory.
Asharq Al-Awsat reports that both Baghdad and Riyadh said the attack originated in Iraq, and separately carries Turkish and Yemeni statements condemning "drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory". Al-Modon reports an Iraqi high-level investigation committee working on the attack, and Asharq reports drones and projectiles seized in Iraq's western desert.
Checked against 3 sources:
A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Several Countries, Regional Organizations Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Al-Modon
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Al-Modon 🇱🇧LB · digital · تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Al-Modon → What we have measured Actor left unnamed a man is killed by an air strike in the headline with nobody named as striking; shelling and demolitions simply "continue" ×1Actor named The Israeli army is named as the shooter. ×1Actor named, action nominalised Israeli escalation is named but arrives as a wave, not as a doer ×1Affected people The only report that looks at people in the south: the explosions, the fear and the displacement. ×1 from 3381 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq Seizes Drones, Projectiles in Western Desert Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
disputed It is known which force launched the drones.
Al-Modon reports an Iraqi investigation weighing suspicions of a Quds Force role; An-Nahar reports Pakistan's prime minister condemning attacks on the Kingdom by the Houthis. No two reports we hold name the same party, and none reports a confirmed finding.
Checked against 2 sources:
A Al-Modon
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Al-Modon 🇱🇧LB · digital · تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Al-Modon → What we have measured Actor left unnamed a man is killed by an air strike in the headline with nobody named as striking; shelling and demolitions simply "continue" ×1Actor named The Israeli army is named as the shooter. ×1Actor named, action nominalised Israeli escalation is named but arrives as a wave, not as a doer ×1Affected people The only report that looks at people in the south: the explosions, the fear and the displacement. ×1 from 3381 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → An-Nahar
Centre estimate · not a score
An-Nahar 🇱🇧LB · newspaper · independent محمد بن سلمان وشهباز شريف يبحثان خفض التصعيد في المنطقة Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at An-Nahar → What we have measured Accused named the accused is named and his age is given ×1Accused named names the accused and gives his age ×1A contested finding relayed with the case still the prime minister's claim carried, with the court proceedings noted in the same sentence ×1Active voice and a toll in the background paragraph, the July strikes get named actors and counted dead — the only counted dead in this story ×1 from 10777 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
misleading The pipeline outage threatens the loss of 4% of global oil supply.
Only The Jerusalem Post carries the figure, and its own text says the strikes "could cut up to 4%" — a ceiling, not a loss that has happened. No other report we hold gives a supply figure.
Checked against 1 source:
The Jerusalem Post
Centre-right estimate · not a score
The Jerusalem Post 🇮🇱IL · newspaper · independent Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at The Jerusalem Post → What we have measured A count the body does not carry the headline says eight countries; the sentence names seven foreign ministers ×1Actor framing The Gulf ministers are the ones acting. Iran is the party they meet. ×1Actor generalised The headline has 'Baghdad' celebrating. The photo caption says the crowd is supporters of one armed group. ×1Actor named names the militias and calls the act 'desecration', in its own voice ×1 from 4111 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →

Who wrote it

ا المدن - عرب وعالم Al-Modon
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Actor named The Israeli army is named as the shooter.×1
Army wording attributed The report attributes the description of the soldiers' deaths as an 'operational incident' to the army.×1
Asserted not attributed pressure on Abu Dhabi presented as revealed, not claimed×1
Asserted, not attributed the US block is stated as fact with no source named×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
2 misleading7 disputed18 unverified15 true
From 801 reports we hold under this byline, at Al-Modon. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
F Fadhel al-Nashmi Asharq Al-Awsat
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Who is named as acting Iraq is the actor in the headline we hold — seizing, not launching×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
1 true
From 21 reports we hold under this byline, at Asharq Al-Awsat. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 5 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

The Jerusalem Post
Centre-right estimate · not a score
The Jerusalem Post 🇮🇱IL · newspaper · independent Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at The Jerusalem Post → What we have measured A count the body does not carry the headline says eight countries; the sentence names seven foreign ministers ×1Actor framing The Gulf ministers are the ones acting. Iran is the party they meet. ×1Actor generalised The headline has 'Baghdad' celebrating. The photo caption says the crowd is supporters of one armed group. ×1Actor named names the militias and calls the act 'desecration', in its own voice ×1 from 4111 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
The only report that names a cause — "drone strikes" — and the only one carrying a picture: a European Union Copernicus satellite handout, captioned as black smoke over the East-West pipeline south of Medina on 10
Drone strikes that damaged a Saudi pipeline yesterday could cut up to 4% of global oil supply and spur even higher fuel prices.
Cause named: drone strikes, with no one named as launching them — “Drone strikes that damaged a Saudi pipeline yesterday could cut up to 4% of global oil supply and spur even higher fuel prices.”
Headline drops the cause the body gives: outage in the headline, drone strikes in the first line — “Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply”
Dating: strike called yesterday, the image dated three days earlier — “A satellite image shows black smoke rising from an area of Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline south of Medina, Hejaz Region, Saudi Arabia September 10, 2026.”
Who is named as acting: the cause is named as drone strikes, but nobody is named as launching them — “Drone strikes that damaged a Saudi pipeline yesterday could cut up to 4% of global oil supply and spur even higher fuel prices.”
Headline against body: the body says the loss could reach up to 4%; the headline drops "up to" and threatens the loss of 4% — “Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply”
What is counted: the measures chosen are share of world supply and fuel prices; no casualty or worker figure appears — “spur even higher fuel prices”
How the scene is dated: the only evidence shown is a satellite handout captioned 10 September, while the text dates the strikes to yesterday — “A satellite image shows black smoke rising from an area of Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline south of Medina, Hejaz Region, Saudi Arabia September 10, 2026.”
Read it at The Jerusalem Post → https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-908458
IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency)
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) 🇮🇷IR · state agency · state-controlled عراق زمان ازسرگیری تبادلات تجاری در گذرگاه مرزی الشلامجه با ایران را اعلام کرد Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) → What we have measured A contested word in the headline "illegal" is a Chinese spokesperson's characterisation, carried unmarked in the headline ×1A contested word taken as the report's own "illegal" appears in the headline without quotation marks or attribution to the speaker ×1Acted upon, never acting police are named as acting; whoever hoarded a billion toman of staples is not named at all ×1Actor label The Houthi-run authority is called Yemen's transport ministry. ×1 from 15038 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — state-controlled
Reports those same crossings — al-Sheeb, al-Shalamcheh and Mandali — resuming passengers and trade, sourced to Iraq's security information centre, without saying what closed them.
تهران- ایرنا- مرکز اطلاع‌رسانی امنیتی عراق اعلام کرد تردد مسافران و فعالیت‌های تجاری در گذرگاه‌های الشیب (چذابه)، شلمچه و مندلی (سومار) ازسرگرفته می‌شود.
What is left out: The same crossings are reported as passengers and trade resuming, sourced to Iraq's security information centre, with no mention of the attack that closed them. — “مرکز اطلاع‌رسانی امنیتی عراق اعلام کرد تردد مسافران و فعالیت‌های تجاری در گذرگاه‌های الشیب (چذابه)، شلمچه و مندلی (سومار) ازسرگرفته می‌شود.”
Read it at IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) → https://www.irna.ir/news/86262968/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%B2%D9%85…
An-Nahar
Centre estimate · not a score
An-Nahar 🇱🇧LB · newspaper · independent محمد بن سلمان وشهباز شريف يبحثان خفض التصعيد في المنطقة Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at An-Nahar → What we have measured Accused named the accused is named and his age is given ×1Accused named names the accused and gives his age ×1A contested finding relayed with the case still the prime minister's claim carried, with the court proceedings noted in the same sentence ×1Active voice and a toll in the background paragraph, the July strikes get named actors and counted dead — the only counted dead in this story ×1 from 10777 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
Names a different attacker, at one remove: Pakistan's prime minister condemning "the attacks the Kingdom is subjected to by the Houthis" in a call with Mohammed bin Salman, alongside praise for Saudi restraint.
.اشترك في نشرتنا الإخبارية لتحصل على أهم و أبرز أخبار اليوم تلقى ولي العهد السعودي الأمير محمد بن سلمان اتصالاً هاتفياً اليوم، من رئيس الوزراء الباكستاني محمد شهباز شريف. وجرى خلال الاتصال بحث تطورات الأحداث والجهود الديبلوماسية لخفض التصعيد في المنطقة، وفق وكالة الأنباء السعودية. وقد أعرب رئيس الوزراء الباكستاني عن "إدانة بلاده للاعتداءات التي تتعرض لها المملكة من قبل الحوثيين، واستنكارها الشديد للانتهاكات الصارخة لسيادة وسلامة أراضيها، مجدداً وقوف باكستان وتضامنها الكامل مع المملكة". رئيس الوزراء الباكستاني محمد شهباز شريف (إكس). كما أكد "إدانة الهجمات التي استهدفت البنية التحتية النفطية الح
Whose voice is quoted: a different attacker named — the Houthis — inside a visiting leader's condemnation — “وقد أعرب رئيس الوزراء الباكستاني عن إدانة بلاده للاعتداءات التي تتعرض لها المملكة من قبل الحوثيين”
Whose voice carries the attacker: A third attacker is named without hedge — the Houthis — inside a visiting leader's condemnation relayed by the Saudi state agency, with no line of the report standing behind it. — “أعرب رئيس الوزراء الباكستاني عن إدانة بلاده للاعتداءات التي تتعرض لها المملكة من قبل الحوثيين”
Read it at An-Nahar → https://www.annahar.com/arab-world/arabian-gulf/346956/محمد-بن-سلمان-وش…
A Al-Modon
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Al-Modon 🇱🇧LB · digital · تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Al-Modon → What we have measured Actor left unnamed a man is killed by an air strike in the headline with nobody named as striking; shelling and demolitions simply "continue" ×1Actor named The Israeli army is named as the shooter. ×1Actor named, action nominalised Israeli escalation is named but arrives as a wave, not as a doer ×1Affected people The only report that looks at people in the south: the explosions, the fear and the displacement. ×1 from 3381 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
The only report that names a force: an Iraqi high committee sent from the prime minister's office is weighing suspicions over the role of the "Quds Force". A suspicion under investigation, not a finding.
حجم الخط مشاركة عبر تواصل لجنة تحقيق عليا موفدة من مكتب رئيس الوزراء العراقي علي الزيدي عملها في محافظة ميسان، جنوبي البلاد، لكشف ملابسات الهجوم الذي استهدف خط أنابيب "شرق-غرب" السعودي في منطقتي الرياض والمدينة المنورة، وألحق أضراراً واسعة أدت إلى وقف عمليات نقل النفط عبره، وسط تحقيقات عراقية في احتمال تورط خلايا مرتبطة بـ"فيلق القدس" التابع للحرس الثوري الإيراني في تنفيذ الهجوم. ونقل "العربي الجديد" عن مسؤول أمني عراقي بارز في بغداد قوله إن اللجنة المكلفة التحقيق في الهجوم تواصل عملها في ميسان، مرجحاً إعلان نتائج أولية للتحقيق خلال أقل من 72 ساعة. وبحسب المسؤول، تتجه المعلومات المتوفرة لدى ال
How hard the claim is stated: an Iranian force named in the headline, held at suspicion — “تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية”
What is hedged: The one report that names a force names it as a suspicion in an official inquiry, in the headline, with the force in quotation marks. — “تحقيق عراقي: شبهات حول دور "فيلق القدس" بهجوم السعودية”
Read it at Al-Modon → https://www.almodon.com/arabworld/2026/09/13/%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D…
A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq Seizes Drones, Projectiles in Western Desert Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
Puts Iraq on the other side of the story — seizing drones and projectiles in its western desert. A headline we hold with no text behind it.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced Saturday that authorities had seized 47 drones and 46 projectiles at an abandoned site in western Anbar province, believed to belong to an armed faction with a significant military presence in the area. The security development in Anbar coincides with attacks carried out by armed factions against Saudi Arabia, prompting cautious optimism among observers that Iraqi authorities are serious about putting an end to such attacks. Acting on precise intelligence, Anbar Police Command units discovered an abandoned site in Area 35 that had previously been used as a ti
Who is named as acting: Iraq is the actor in the headline we hold — seizing, not launching — “Iraq Seizes Drones, Projectiles in Western Desert”
Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → https://english.aawsat.com/node/5317677
A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Iraq to Reopen Iran Crossings After Drone Attack Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
Hangs the border on the attack in its headline: crossings to Iran reopening after it. Also a headline with no text behind it.
Iraqi authorities announced on Sunday a timeline to reopen three crossings with Iran, a day after closing them following a drone attack originating from their shared border on a Saudi pipeline. After the Friday night attack on the East-West pipeline, Baghdad sacked the military commander in Missan province near the Iran border, after authorities determined the drones were launched from there. The government then closed three crossings, citing the need to reorganize operations and boost intelligence efforts to stop violations. Two Iraqi security sources told AFP on Saturday that drone launchers
What the headline carries: the attack and Iran's crossings joined in one line; who attacked is not in it — “Iraq to Reopen Iran Crossings After Drone Attack”
Headline against body: The headline hangs a border reopening on the attack as cause and effect, and names no one who attacked. — “Iraq to Reopen Iran Crossings After Drone Attack”
Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → https://english.aawsat.com/node/5317669
A Asharq Al-Awsat
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Asharq Al-Awsat 🇸🇦SA · digital · Several Countries, Regional Organizations Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → What we have measured Active voice, both actors named the killing of Iran's supreme leader is given an actor and a date, unhedged ×1Active voice for the actor soldiers and settlers are both named as acting ×1Anyone hurt is counted, not named three dead given as a figure and a job title ×1Are the hurt named or counted The dead man and the wounded are a count inside an official's quote; nobody is named, and no ages, roles or nationalities are given. ×1 from 3032 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
Collects the condemnations — Türkiye, the Yemeni cabinet — and in doing so fixes the launch point: "drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory", with nobody named as launching them.
Several countries and regional organizations have condemned attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, voicing solidarity with the Kingdom and rejecting attacks on critical energy infrastructure. Türkiye, the Yemeni Cabinet strongly condemned the drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory targeting the East-West oil pipeline in Riyadh and Madinah regions of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. In a statement, the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs affirmed Türkiye's support for Saudi Arabia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, commending the Kingdom's
Who is named as acting: the actor is a territory, not a party — drones launch themselves from Iraq — “strongly condemned the drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory targeting the East-West oil pipeline in Riyadh and Madinah regions of Saudi Arabia”
Who is named as acting: A territory stands where an actor would go: the drones are launched from Iraq and nobody launches them, in a sentence sourced to the Saudi state agency. — “the drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory”
Read it at Asharq Al-Awsat → https://english.aawsat.com/node/5317635
Checked, didn’t cover
Haaretz
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Haaretz 🇮🇱IL · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured A previous framing corrected the twelve-country statement described as ambiguously worded ×1Asserted flat The report states as fact that barring Arab parties is a standing ritual. ×1Asserted flat The report says ethnicity explains the different outcomes, in its own voice. ×1Asserted in the report's own voice Parties are characterised by what they are said to promise, unattributed, and the headline calls the result frightening. ×1 from 1936 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation 🇵🇸PS · TV/radio · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Asserted versus attributed recognition itself stated as fact ×1Attribution 'historic' attributed to the Palestinian ambassador ×1Dead counted, not named two dead are counted as 'citizens' and none are named; the wounded are not counted ×1Dead named Gives the dead man's full name and age. ×1 from 766 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Ynet
Centre estimate · not a score
Ynet 🇮🇱IL · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured A claim in the headline that the other reports very close to deciding the regime appears in one report only ×1Active voice The killers are the subject of the verbs 'beat' and 'burned'. ×1Active voice The killers are named as acting ×1Army's term, attributed the army names the target of its strikes, and no one on the other side is quoted ×1 from 2684 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Shargh
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Shargh 🇮🇷IR · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured A count with its base both days given, and the data called preliminary ×1Actor named as a state the attack is Yemen's, not the Houthis' ×1A different actor does the asking Pakistan's army chief, not Beijing, is the one asking Tehran to use its influence, on the word of unnamed Pakistani government sources. ×1'aggression' in the narration The US campaign is called aggression in the report's own narration, which it credits to Al-Ahram's account of the call. ×1 from 10199 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Al-Monitor
Centre estimate · not a score
Al-Monitor 🇺🇸US/ME · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor from anonymous officials Puts the IRGC at the trigger in a sentence sourc ×1Actor named Names the Director-General as the one who requested the dismissal ×1Actor named names Trump as the one who began the war, with Israel ×1Actor named names Israel as the actor in its military actions against the Palestinians ×1 from 1566 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Tehran Times
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Tehran Times 🇮🇷IR · newspaper · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Asserted vs attributed headline states the seizure flat; the body attributes it to the claimant ×1Attribution the toll is attributed to a body that is described but not named ×1Headline against body headline states the seizure flat; the body attributes it to the IRGC ×1How the objectors are framed opposition is described as protesters speaking for civilians ×1 from 1753 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Al Jazeera English
Centre estimate · not a score
Al Jazeera English 🇶🇦QA · TV/radio · state-funded international No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accusation attributed Cuba's charge is attributed to its foreign minister, not stated as fact ×1Actor named The headline names Israel as the actor and gives a count of three that includes a child. ×1Agency No actor is named for the detentions. The raids, not the soldiers, 'left' the town in lockdown ×1Agency Names Israel as the actor in the headline, in active voice ×1 from 4959 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)
Centre estimate · not a score
LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International) 🇱🇧LB · TV/radio · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Active voice, actor named the Israeli army carried out the detonation ×1Actor framing Tehran calls the meeting. Iraq is the only other state named. ×1Actor left unnamed the strike in Iraqi waters has no one named as firing it — the source is "unknown" ×1Actor named names Israel as the one striking ×1 from 8159 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Silence is recorded, not inferred — each of these was read when we built this story and carried nothing on this event.
We could not read these
K Kan · Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation
Centre estimate · not a score
Kan · Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation 🇮🇱IL · public broadcaster · public-service No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → The Times of Israel
Centre estimate · not a score
The Times of Israel 🇮🇱IL · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actorless in own voice The killing is passive with no shooter in the se ×1Headline carries the purpose The livestock and the army's reason are in the h ×1Headline frame The headline carries the military's word for the ×1Military words carried whole Both the label for the dead and the phrase for t ×1 from 149 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → A Al-Sabaah
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Al-Sabaah 🇮🇶IQ · newspaper · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Ma'an News Agency
Centre estimate · not a score
Ma'an News Agency 🇵🇸PS · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Al Rai
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Al Rai 🇯🇴JO · newspaper · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Al-Mada
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Al-Mada 🇮🇶IQ · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → North Press Agency
Centre estimate · not a score
North Press Agency 🇸🇾SY · wire · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Attribution the damage list is carried in full, attributed to the side claiming it ×1Single official source Uses the Saudi Press Agency's account: 'bilateral relations', with no mention of reconstruction or money. ×1What is at stake presents the stakes as trade and energy security; no ship, crew or price is counted ×1Which line is led with led by the legal instrument, naming the Security Council resolution by number ×1 from 1169 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency 🇵🇸PS · state agency · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency)
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency) 🇸🇾SY · state agency · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Al-Manar
State-owned, sometimes critical estimate · not a score
Al-Manar 🇱🇧LB · TV/radio · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Galei Tzahal (Army Radio)
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) 🇮🇱IL · TV/radio · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Middle East Eye
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Middle East Eye 🇬🇧UK · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured How hard the claim is stated Its own body says the investigators did not attribute the network to the Emirati state — the qualification its headline drops. ×1How hard the claim is stated The body withdraws in one line the attribution its own headline makes ×1How deeply it is sourced Cites its own past reporting as the evidence for the claim in its own headline, and calls the evidence widespread in its own voice ×1How deeply it is sourced Offers its own past reporting as the evidence supporting the claim in its headline, inside the same sentence that carries the denial. ×1 from 125 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Ammon News
Centre estimate · not a score
Ammon News 🇯🇴JO · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times →
These are must-cite outlets for this desk that we did not manage to read when we built this story. That is a gap in our reach, not a silence on their part, and it is not evidence of anything about this story.

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