Iran targets Saudi Arabia with the largest drone swarm since the start of the war
The Saudi Ministry of Defense announces the downing of a hostile drone as it attempted to approach the Diplomatic Quarter.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced early Friday that it had intercepted 56 drones that entered the kingdom’s airspace, one of which was attempting to approach the Diplomatic Quarter in the capital Riyadh. This campaign represents the largest attack against Saudi Arabia since the outbreak of the war. Meanwhile, Iranian missiles and drones continued to target Gulf countries, particularly Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
In several posts published at close intervals on the platform X early Friday, the ministry stated that it had intercepted 53 drones after they entered Saudi airspace, without providing details about the locations where they were intercepted.
The ministry also reported “the downing of a hostile drone while it was attempting to approach the Diplomatic Quarter” in Riyadh.
It further announced “the interception and destruction of three drones in Al-Kharj province and the Rub al-Khali region,” shortly after declaring “the interception and destruction of two drones in Al-Kharj province.” The ministry also said that 12 drones were intercepted and destroyed in the Eastern Province alone. Shortly before that, it had reported intercepting seven drones targeting the eastern and central regions of the country.
On Thursday evening, the Ministry of Defense had already announced the interception of 53 drones and the destruction of five ballistic missiles within a 24-hour period.
The ministry did not specify the source of the launches, but the attacks coincide with strikes carried out by Tehran against several Arab countries in the region since February 28, following the Israeli-American offensive against Iran.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Government Media Office announced on Friday that debris had fallen on the facade of a building in downtown Dubai.
In a post on its official account on platform X, the office said that “the competent authorities confirmed that they are dealing with a minor incident resulting from falling debris following an aerial interception on the facade of a building in central Dubai,” without providing further details. It added that no injuries were reported.
Media outlets and social media users circulated videos showing smoke rising from a building in the city of Dubai.
In recent days, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly condemned similar attacks involving missiles and drones and stressed that it reserves the right to respond.
The Oman News Agency also reported that two people were killed in Oman after drones fell in the wilayat of Sohar. Security sources had previously said on Thursday that a drone had been intercepted in the airspace of the wilayat of Khasab in the Sultanate of Oman, without any human or material losses.
The attacks on Oman come despite the Sultanate’s role as a mediator in the nuclear negotiations that took place before the war between Washington and Tehran, and despite the relations maintained between the country and the Islamic Republic.
For its part, Qatar announced on Thursday evening that it had intercepted three missiles and several drones as part of a new Iranian attack.
The Qatari Ministry of Defense stated that the country had been subjected to “an attack involving two ballistic missiles, a cruise missile, and several drones from Iran today,” adding that “our armed forces successfully intercepted all the drones and missiles,” without specifying the exact number of drones.
