ISTANBUL

Air defenses in Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed six drones in the country’s Eastern Region on Friday evening, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

Earlier, the ministry said that it intercepted 56 drones that entered the kingdom’s airspace since early Friday, including one that attempted to approach the high-security diplomatic area in the capital, Riyadh.

The interceptions came as tensions across the Middle East have flared up since Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far around 1,300 people, including the then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets, resulting in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure and affecting global markets and aviation.