Saudi Arabia vs Iran: The Strategic Move That Changed the Game

Saudi Arabia was one step ahead of Iran

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Saudi Arabia built the East–West Crude Oil Pipeline, often called Petroline, in the 1980s.

Length: about 1,200 km (750 miles).

Route: from oil fields in the Persian Gulf across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Purpose: to move crude without using the Strait of Hormuz.

So the core statement that Saudi Arabia created a pipeline to bypass Hormuz decades ago is correct.

2. It was partly motivated by Hormuz risk.

The pipeline was developed during the Iran–Iraq War, when attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf raised fears that shipping through Hormuz could be disrupted.

Saudi Arabia wanted an alternative export route in case the strait became unsafe.