From Maysan to Saudi Arabia, drone attack puts Iraqi province under scrutiny

AMMAN — As Saudi Arabia scrambles to repair major damage to its East-West pipeline following a Sept. 11 attack, the Iraqi government’s response to the attack launched from its territory has come under scrutiny.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government has acknowledged that the drones involved originated from the southeastern governorate of Maysan, which borders Iran.

Maysan has long been known for drug and weapons smuggling, as well as tribal and militia conflict. For years, its marshes have been drying up due not only to climate change but also local greed, locals say.

“With the experience gained, especially after the last war,” one resident of Maysan told Al-Monitor via encrypted communications on Sept. 15 — referring to the Iran-US-Israel war that began on Feb. 28 — Iran-backed factions in the province “have become more dominant and powerful everywhere in Maysan.”

“The evidence lies in [our] daily life,” he added. “We see them everywhere.”

“Two years ago, citizens were barred from entering the Al-Tayeb area, designated as an oil zone. Entry is impossible without a security clearance,” he added, referring to the reported launch site for the attack on the Saudi pipeline. “We heard many accounts regarding shelling and missile launches, but we witnessed nothing firsthand, as we are prohibited from approaching within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of this border and oil-rich zone. These restrictions apply only to ordinary citizens. Party-linked individuals and [armed] factions are exempt from the law.”

Numerous projects were initiated under former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whom Zaidi succeeded in May, including ones to bring more development to the Al-Tayeb area. Sudani held multiple government roles in Maysan prior to serving as prime minister between October 2022 and May 2026.

In late August, Iraq Business News reported that plans for “Al-Tayeb Economic City in Maysan province have moved forward following a meeting to assess water infrastructure requirements.” 

The contract for the initial phase of what Iraqi officials at the time called the country’s “first integrated economic city” was signed in early 2025 with US company KBR for “strategic economic studies, investment opportunity packaging, and sectoral planning,” according to Iraq Business News. 

During a 2023 reporting trip to the province, Al-Monitor found dusty, unrepaired streets in the city flanked by malls and ice cream shops. Whispered warnings about militias were followed by generous offers of meals, coffee and a place to stay for the night. Younger men, including one former member of the hard-line Iraqi Shia paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah who had fought in Syria in previous years alongside the Iran-led muqawama, or “resistance,” spoke of disillusionment with Iran-backed armed factions. Older men, by contrast, spoke with pride when they recounted their actions across the region, including years spent fighting alongside Iran against Iraq.

The US-Iran war has rekindled rage and fears among locals in Maysan about Iraq’s future and who can and cannot be trusted.

Before the attack on the Saudi pipeline, Iran-linked individuals and factions had threatened to target facilities across the region that sought to provide alternative routes around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s ability to exert a chokehold has been weakening. Their statements implicitly included Iraqi government plans to build pipelines and other infrastructure, including parts of the $17-billion Development Road project linking Iraq’s southern Basra port with Turkey. The project aims to shorten travel time between Asia and Europe. 

Following the Sept. 11 attack, Zaidi dismissed the Maysan Operations commander and the province's police chief. Authorities also briefly closed multiple border crossings with Iran.

Iraqi journalist Othman al-Mukhtar has spoken out on the X platform about what he considers the most telling aspect of the government’s reaction.

In a Sept. 12 post, Mukhtar noted that while the provincial military commander was dismissed, the government “didn't even consider expelling members of the Houthi [Iran-backed Ansar Allah] mission in Baghdad.”

“More than 80 members of the Houthi militia are present in Iraq under the title ‘Ansar Allah Mission,’” he added, “and they engage in military and intelligence activities against a neighboring and brotherly state to Iraq.”

Mukhtar posted a video the next day on the same platform that showed what he said were “three prominent leaders in the Houthi militia in Iraq, during a previous reception for them in Maysan Province, from which the terrorist attack on Saudi territory was carried out.” 

In Maysan, some local residents who were willing to be quoted by international media three years ago no longer are.

“There is no security as long as weapons are outside the control of the state,” one source in Maysan told Al-Monitor, repeating what has been said by many for years both inside and outside Iraq.

The US-led international coalition’s remaining forces in Iraq are expected to be entirely gone by the end of this month. The same deadline is unlikely to be met by various Iran-aligned armed factions refusing to hand over their arms to the state.

The Iraqi government under millionaire businessman Zaidi launched a massive anti-corruption crackdown called Operation Dawn on June 28, though some claim the most powerful players have been left untouched. It is unclear what kind of anti-militia drive may or may not be planned for after Sept. 30.

“Terrorism generates corruption, and corruption generates terrorism,” the head of the Falcon Cell Intelligence Unit, Abu Ali al-Basri, told Al-Monitor in an exclusive 2020 interview in Baghdad.

What happens in this governorate and others when local actors act against Iraq's stated interests, and how safe members of the local community feel when speaking to the media, will be telling indicators of how seriously the government is pursuing its pledges to combat corruption and terrorism.

Iraqis and would-be investors abroad alike say they will be watching closely.