Smoke rose from the compound of the United States (US) embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday after Iranian drones pierced Saudi air defences, marking a dramatic expansion of a conflict that has already engulfed capitals and energy hubs across the Middle East.
The strike came as Washington urged its citizens to flee the region and President Donald Trump signalled the war could stretch on for “weeks or months”.
In Riyadh’s tightly guarded diplomatic quarter, security forces sealed off roads and checked identification documents as smoke damage scarred the embassy’s walls and roof. Two drones struck the compound after eight were intercepted over Saudi cities, authorities said.
Saudi Arabia, already on edge after previous attacks forced the closure of parts of its vast oil infrastructure, scrambled air defences throughout the night. Several access roads to the US mission were blocked as investigators combed the site.
The attack followed US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader four days earlier, triggering what regional officials now describe as open war.
On Monday, the US State Department warned of “serious safety risks” and urged “Americans to DEPART NOW” from all Middle Eastern countries and territories.
Speaking at the White House, President Trump said the campaign was expected to last longer than initially forecast.
“From the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,” he said.
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In remarks to NewsNation, Trump warned Iran it would “find out soon” how he intended to respond to the Riyadh attack. In an earlier interview with the New York Post, he declined to rule out deploying US ground troops to Iran “if they were necessary”.
For the first time, Trump publicly outlined the operation’s aims: dismantling Iran’s missile arsenal, crippling its navy, destroying its nuclear programme and halting support for armed groups across the region. Notably absent from the list was regime change, despite repeated calls from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Iranians to rise up.
As Tehran broadened its targets, Israel intensified operations on its northern front.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had been authorised “to advance and take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon in order to prevent attacks on Israeli border communities”.
After what a Lebanese military source described as Israel’s “escalation”, the Lebanese army redeployed units in the south. Hezbollah said it had struck three Israeli bases, prompting heavy Israeli bombardment.
Iran’s retaliation extended beyond diplomatic sites. Industrial facilities and energy infrastructure were hit from Gulf cities to the Omani port of Duqm. In the United Arab Emirates emirate of Fujairah, debris from intercepted drones ignited a fire at an oil installation before authorities brought the blaze under control and resumed operations.
As European markets opened, benchmark Brent crude prices surged again amid fears for supplies.
The threat to global shipping lanes sharpened when Revolutionary Guards General Sardar Jabbari declared: “We will burn any ship that tries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Inside Iran, powerful explosions rocked Tehran overnight as fighter jets roared over the capital. Residents reported sustained bombardment as Washington and its allies pressed their offensive.
