Iran targets U.S. allies, hits American Embassy in Riyadh
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The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, according to initial estimates, resulting in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building, a Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said.
The big picture: Tehran has launched a wave of counterattacks following weekend airstrikes by American and Israeli forces on Iran, firing missiles at Middle Eastern countries that are allied with the U.S. into Tuesday morning — as the U.S. and Israel continued to target Iran.
U.S. Central Command said on X American forces had "destroyed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities," along with other targets.
The Israel Defense Forces said on X it was "conducting simultaneous targeted strikes against military targets in Tehran and Beirut, from where Hezbollah has fired several missiles from Lebanon towards Israel in recent days.
State of play: The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia issued a "shelter in place" alert for Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran following Tuesday's attack.
There were no immediate reports of injuries following the drone strikes, but the mission said it was limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region.
"We recommend American citizens in the Kingdom to shelter in place immediately and avoid the Embassy until further notice due to an attack on the facility," the mission said.
Hours earlier, Mora Namdar, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, issued a statement calling on Americans to "DEPART NOW" from Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, Syria, Yemen and Jordan "due to serious safety risks."
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