Saudi Arabia orders Iranian military attaché, four embassy staff to leave

Saudi Arabia declared Iran's military attaché, assistant military attaché, and three additional embassy staff members persona non grata on March 21-22, 2026, ordering them to leave the kingdom within 24 hours. This diplomatic expulsion involved a total of five Iranian diplomats and represents a significant escalation in tensions between the two regional powers. The Saudi Foreign Ministry issued the statement late on Saturday, March 21, 2026, citing Iran's recent missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and other Arab and Islamic states as the primary justification for the action.

The Saudi government condemned what it described as "blatant" attacks on its sovereignty, civilian infrastructure, economic interests, and diplomatic missions. The ministry stated that Iran's actions violated international law, the Beijing Agreement that had previously normalized relations between the two countries, UN Security Council Resolution 2817, and principles of good neighborliness. Saudi Arabia referenced a prior warning issued on March 9, 2026, indicating this was not an impulsive decision but a measured response to ongoing provocations.

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This expulsion follows Qatar's similar action earlier in the week, where Qatar declared Iran's security and military attachés persona non grata after Iranian missile strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility. The Saudi move comes amid escalating regional hostilities that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting February 28, 2026, which prompted Iranian retaliation against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military assets. Saudi Arabia affirmed its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and warned of further measures to protect its national security.

The diplomatic rift represents a serious setback to the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement that had been progressing since the 2023 Beijing-brokered agreement. Just months earlier, in December 2025, both countries had met in Tehran for the third session of their trilateral joint committee with China to review implementation of their normalization agreement and pledged expanded cooperation. Saudi Arabia's action signals that Iranian attacks on Gulf states' infrastructure have crossed a red line, potentially unraveling years of diplomatic efforts to stabilize relations between these regional rivals.