The United States Embassy in Riyadh has suffered far greater damage from an Iranian drone attack than previously reported. According to current and former U.S. officials, the strike in early March caused critical damage to the embassy’s infrastructure.
In particular, three floors of the building were completely destroyed, including a work area used by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The attack was carried out using a double-strike tactic, with an interval of about a minute. The first Shahed drone punched a hole in the wall of a secure part of the complex, and the second flew directly into the building, where it exploded. During the day, several hundred employees usually work in this area, but the nighttime attack avoided mass casualties among the staff.
“The strike hit a secure part of the embassy and seriously damaged three floors. The most damaged part of the building is currently beyond repair,” one of the sources told the publication.
Despite the fact that the Saudi Ministry of Defense had previously announced a “limited fire” and minor damage, the real situation turned out to be much more complicated. Eyewitnesses claim that the fire on the diplomatic compound could not be extinguished for half a day. This led to the final degradation of the structures of the main building.
“The fire after the hits burned for half a day, destroying everything in its path, which makes official statements about minor damage completely unrealistic,” the official emphasized.
The security situation in the region continues to deteriorate rapidly, which forced Washington to announce the temporary closure of its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Additional tension is added by reports of the first cases of shooting down American aircraft by Iranian air defense systems. In particular, the loss of an F-15 fighter jet and an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft has been confirmed.
According to official data, during the current military campaign, the US has already lost 13 servicemen killed, and the number of wounded has exceeded 360 people. Currently, the search for one of the crew members of the downed F-15 is ongoing, while the other pilots are already safe after successfully ejecting. Intelligence continues to analyze threats to other diplomatic institutions in the Persian Gulf countries.
