The U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was hit by two drones as Iran intensifies retaliatory attacks targeted at American bases and embassies across Middle Eastern countries.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, confirmed the attack but said the impact was minor.
“The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was subjected to an attack by two drones, according to initial estimates, resulting in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building,” said the statement.
Iran fired several missiles at U.S. bases in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, after the U.S. and Israel launched deadly airstrikes on Iran, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some of his regime officials.
At least 40 members of Mr Khamenei’s regime were killed in airstrikes over the weekend.
A report by Washington Post on Sunday alleged that Saudi’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, secretly lobbied Mr Trump to attack Iran, while publicly calling for a diplomatic solution between the two countries.
Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran would not enter into any negotiations with the U.S.
“We will not negotiate with the United States,” Mr Larijani stated in a post on X on Monday.
Mr Larijani added, “Trump plunged the region into chaos with his ‘delusional fantasies’ and now fears more American troop casualties.
“With his delusional actions, he turned his self-made ‘America First’ slogan into ‘Israel First’ and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s power-hungry ambitions.”
A joint strike carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other officials of his regime.
Mr Trump attributed Saturday’s attack to Iran’s nuclear weapons, saying America will never allow Iran own nuclear weapons.
On Sunday, Mr Trump had told The Atlantic that remnants of Mr Khamenei’s regime had reached out to him for negotiations.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has called on its citizens to immediately leave Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries as Iran escalates military attacks in the region.
“The @SecRubio @StateDept urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks.
“Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means, CALL US 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad) and +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. and Canada),” the U.S. assistant secretary Mora Namdar said in an X post Monday.
Other Middle Eastern countries the State Department urged Americans to leave immediately are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, and Yemen.
