**Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) (AFP)** – Drones hit the US embassy in Riyadh, and more explosions rang out in Gulf cities Tuesday as Iran retaliated against industrial and diplomatic targets across the Middle East. Governments sought to evacuate their nationals from the region. Four days after US and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, triggering a regional war involving missile and drone strikes across the Gulf and beyond, AFP reporters in the Saudi capital observed smoke damage on the walls and roof of the American embassy. Saudi police were swarming the diplomatic quarter, checking the IDs of everyone entering. Several roads were blocked, including those leading to the US embassy. The Saudi foreign ministry described the attack as “heinous and unjustified.”
AFP journalists in the Bahraini and Qatari capitals heard more explosions and sirens, while the Iranian armed forces announced they had launched strikes on targets in Israel and the major US air base in Al-Udeid, Qatar. Qatar stated it had thwarted attacks on its airport. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini warned that “the gates of hell will open more and more, moment by moment, upon the United States and Israel.” United Nations rights chief Volker Turk expressed his deep shock over the war’s toll on civilians. The UN nuclear watchdog indicated that Iran’s Natanz enrichment plant appeared to have suffered “recent damage” based on satellite imagery.
Powerful explosions shook Tehran throughout the night, as fighter jets flew over the Iranian capital. US President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the conflict. On Monday, the US State Department urged “Americans to DEPART NOW” from all countries and territories in the Middle East “due to serious safety risks.” Meanwhile, Israel announced it was seizing new forward positions in southern Lebanon, following missile fire from Hezbollah in support of Iran, which provoked a furious Israeli bombardment. Defence Minister Israel Katz authorized Israeli forces “to advance and take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon to prevent attacks on Israeli border communities.” Shortly afterward, a military spokesman confirmed that Northern Command had moved forward to create a buffer between residents and any threat.
A Lebanese army source reported that Israeli forces advanced from around Kfar Kila in an apparent attempt to establish a broad security belt in southern Lebanon. In response to Israel’s “escalation,” the Lebanese army redeployed troops stationed near the southern border back to their bases. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching strikes targeting three Israeli bases. A spokesman for the UN refugee agency reported that 30,000 Lebanese had been displaced from their homes and registered at collective shelters, while “many more slept in their cars on the side of roads.”
In Gulf cities and the Omani port of Duqm, Iranian strikes continued to target oil and gas infrastructure, causing shares to plunge as European markets opened and oil and gas prices surged for the second consecutive day. “We will burn any ship that tries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” declared Revolutionary Guards General Sardar Jabbari. Trump cautioned that the strikes could persist for weeks or months, stating, “From the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that.” In an earlier interview with the New York Post, Trump, who campaigned on promises to end US involvement in wars, did not rule out deploying US ground troops to Iran “if they were necessary.” He warned Iran would “find out soon” how he planned to retaliate for the Riyadh embassy attack, outlining objectives that included destroying Iran’s missiles, navy, and nuclear program, and ceasing its support for armed groups across the region. Notably, Trump’s goals did not include toppling the Islamic republic, despite urging the people of Iran to rise up.
Saudi Arabia announced it intercepted eight more drones in two cities, including the capital, on Tuesday. However, two drones penetrated air defenses and struck the US embassy, causing a fire. In Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates, debris from downed drones sparked a fire at an oil facility, though the blaze was brought under control and operations resumed. Qatar has already halted LNG production, leading to a surge in European energy prices. On Tuesday, giant gas producer QatarEnergy announced a halt in the production of related products like urea, polymers, methanol, and aluminum.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented a strikingly new narrative of how the conflict began. He stated that the United States, which had built up its forces in the Gulf to levels not seen since the 2003 Iraq invasion, only attacked after learning that ally Israel was about to strike Iran. Rubio explained that Iran had been ready to strike US forces in response to Israel, prompting Trump to intervene “pre-emptively” alongside Israel. The death toll throughout the region has continued to rise, with six US military personnel killed so far in the war, according to US Central Command. Iranian media have reported hundreds of Iranian casualties, including many at a girls’ school, although AFP reporters have not independently verified these figures. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Tuesday that there were 101 casualties inside Iran on the third day of the war, including “85 civilian deaths and 11 military personnel killed.”
© 2024 AFP
