Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said on Monday that it intercepted and destroyed four drones targeting a key oil facility in the kingdom’s eastern region, even as tensions intensified across the Gulf.
The drones were heading towards the Shaybah oil field, located near the border with the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said in a statement, as reported by Hindustan Times.
“Four drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were intercepted and destroyed,” the ministry said, adding that the attack was successfully thwarted before the drones could reach their target.
The United States, meanwhile, ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia. The state department issued the order on Sunday, marking its first approved “ordered departure” since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Previously, non-critical American personnel stationed at diplomatic posts in the region had been allowed to leave voluntarily. The new directive makes their departure mandatory.
The move was aimed at reducing the US diplomatic footprint in the country to essential personnel due to security risks, a state department spokesperson said. The US Embassy in Riyadh remains operational with core staff and the measure is expected to be temporary.
The evacuation order follows recent attacks targeting the US diplomatic compound in Riyadh and nearby areas. According to Saudi authorities, two unmanned aircraft struck the area in a drone attack.
Even as Iran selected its new supreme leader, several Gulf states reported fresh missile and drone attacks on Monday. Iran has said it has the capacity to sustain the war for months, raising fears of prolonged instability across the region.
Explosions were heard in Qatar’s capital Doha, where the country’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted a missile attack. Bahrain said an Iranian drone strike on the island of Sitra overnight wounded 32 civilians. Four of them are in serious condition. All the injured were Bahraini citizens.
A projectile strike on Sunday killed two people and injured 12 others, Saudi civil defence officials said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has already pledged allegiance to the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei described the appointment as “a source of joy and hope”.
Meanwhile, Israel has vowed to target any successor to Iran’s leadership, while US president Donald Trump warned that the new leadership would not last long without US approval.
Soon after the new leader was announced, Iran fired missiles toward Israel on Monday, according to state broadcaster IRIB. Israeli medics reported that one woman was moderately injured.
The escalating conflict has sent both Brent and WTI crude prices surging above $100 per barrel amid fears of supply disruptions.
Stock markets in Asia also fell sharply in early trading on Monday as investors reacted to the spike in oil prices and concerns that the conflict could widen further across the Gulf.
