US Embassy in Riyadh hit by drones, Saudi defense ministry says
The US Embassy in Riyadh was struck by two drones, causing a limited fire and material damage, according to Saudi Arabia's defense ministry, marking a serious escalation in regional tensions.
On March 3, 2026, two suspected Iranian drones struck the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, causing a small fire and minor material damage to the diplomatic compound. The attack occurred in the early morning hours and triggered loud explosions and visible smoke at the embassy located in Riyadh's diplomatic quarter. According to reports from Al Jazeera and CNN-News18, the Saudi defense ministry confirmed the drone attack but no immediate casualties were reported among embassy personnel or local residents.
The incident prompted immediate security responses from US authorities, including shelter-in-place orders for all US personnel throughout Saudi Arabia and travel restrictions to military sites. The US State Department issued a sweeping security advisory covering multiple Middle Eastern countries and urged American citizens to "depart now" due to serious safety risks. Non-emergency personnel and families were ordered to depart from Jordan, Iraq, and Bahrain, while the US embassy in Kuwait closed until further notice.
This attack represents a significant escalation in regional tensions following weekend joint US-Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets. The drone strike appears to be part of broader Iranian retaliatory actions across the region, with Gulf states hosting American bases reportedly left exposed. In a related incident, debris from an intercepted drone in Abu Dhabi damaged a complex housing the Israeli embassy and several international missions, causing minor injuries to a woman and her child.
The attack has intensified regional instability, with protests in Iraq calling for US withdrawal and heightened security concerns across diplomatic missions in the Middle East. While the Saudi defense ministry has attributed the attack to drones, no specific group has claimed responsibility at this time. The incident marks one of the most direct attacks on US diplomatic facilities in the region in recent years and underscores the volatile security situation amid ongoing geopolitical tensions between Iran, its proxies, and US-allied forces in the Middle East.
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