The US embassy in Saudi Arabia has been struck by ‘suspected Iranian drones’ as explosions were heard and smoke seen in Riyadh.
The State Department told The Wall Street Journal the embassy ‘has been struck by two [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] UAVs that hit the roof and the perimeter of the chancery.’
CNN reported that the embassy was hit by two ‘suspected Iranian drones.’ No injuries have been reported.
‘Post is sheltering in place and reported no injuries,’ the department said.
The envoy is also limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region, it said in a statement posted on social media.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said in a statement that the drone strike resulted in a ‘limited’ fire and minor material damage.
The strike comes just days after Donald Trump authorized preemptive strikes against Tehran.
A fire broke out at the embassy in the Saudi capital after a blast, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The conflict in the Middle East may have taken another turn as a fire at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia (pictured) was reported, as loud explosions were heard and clouds of smoke were seen in Riyadh.
It came just days after Donald Trump (pictured) launched an attack on Iran
The explosions and smoke came from Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, home to foreign embassies in the Saudi capital and residences of foreign diplomats, four witnesses told AFP early Tuesday morning.
‘I heard two explosions followed by smoke rising over the quarter,’ said a resident who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Three people familiar with the matter said a loud blast was heard and flames were seen at the embassy early on Tuesday morning. One of the sources said the fire was minor.
The blasts were heard as Iran pressed its campaign targeting Gulf states including Saudi Arabia with waves of missile and drone attacks in response to US and Israeli air strikes.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the State Department for comment.
The US launched preemptive strikes against Iran after learning Israel was about to attack — and American troops in the region faced an imminent threat of retaliation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday.
Rubio made the revelation on Capitol Hill, where he briefed a small group of congressional leaders on the joint US-Israel offensive.
‘There absolutely was an imminent threat,’ Rubio stated. ‘And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded.’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that the ‘imminent threat’ that prompted the US to strike Iran was the threat US soldiers would face after Israel’s planned strike on the Middle Eastern country
Rubio said the Department of War determined that a defensive posture following an Israeli attack would only open the US to more casualties. Five American soldiers have died so far in combat.
‘We went proactively in a defensive way to prevent them from inflicting higher damage,’ he said.
The revelation outraged both Democrats and Republicans.
The United States has urged all Americans to leave 15 countries across the Middle East ahead of a planned ‘major uptick’ in strikes on Iran.
State Department officials announced Monday that any Americans currently in the Middle East should evacuate immediately, and offered assistance to anyone who was struggling to arrange transportation out of the country.
That announcement came as a senior official told CNN’s Jim Sciutto that the US is preparing for a ‘major uptick’ in strikes on Iran over the next 24 hours, targeting the country’s missile production, drones and naval capabilities.
But already Iran has started firing back, killing six American soldiers and striking an American-allied fuel tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards now say the strait is closed and Iran will set fire on any ship which attempts to pass through.
A major oil refinery at Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, was also shuttered on Monday after being hit by a drone as motorists in the UK face warnings of potential ‘record prices at the pumps’.
Meanwhile, Qatar shot down two Iranian fighter jets after it was attacked by Tehran today and forced to shut off its gas production following a drone strike.
The Qatari defense ministry announced two Su-24 bombers were brought down, while seven missiles and five drones were also intercepted during several attacks on the Gulf state.
