ISTANBUL
An Iranian drone attack on the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia last month caused more damage than previously disclosed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing US officials.
The attack occurred on March 3, when a drone bypassed air defenses at Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter and struck the American compound. A second drone followed, hitting the same spot and causing another explosion.
The strikes, which took place at night, breached a secure part of the embassy where hundreds of employees would typically work, severely damaging three floors. The CIA station was among the affected areas.
According to the report, Saudi officials initially downplayed the attack, calling it a minor fire with limited damage, but the US officials said the fire lasted for hours and caused significant, irreparable damage to parts of the embassy.
Later that night, more drones were intercepted, with debris landing near a preschool. One drone appeared to target the residence of the top US diplomat in Saudi Arabia, only a few hundred feet from the embassy.
Had the attack occurred during working hours, it could have resulted in mass casualties, officials noted, underscoring the message that Iran can strike at US assets once thought to be secure.
“It was able to produce an indigenously made weapon, fire it across hundreds of miles and put it into the embassy of their top opponent, which means they could have hit anything they wanted in the city,” said Bernard Hudson, a former CIA counterterrorism chief with extensive experience in Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia.
“There’s been a complete blackout on the actual amount of damage done to these places,” he said about US embassies and bases. “That feeds suspicions that a lot more damage may have actually happened.”
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.