US Embassy in Saudi capital Riyadh hit by drones, fire reported: Ministry

Saudi Defence Ministry says fire broke out at the embassy, but the diplomatic compound sustained only ‘minor’ damage.Published On 3 Mar 2026The United States Embassy in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, was hit by two drones and a “limited fire” broke out at the diplomatic compound, the Saudi Ministry of Defence has said.The strike on the US Embassy early on Tuesday also caused “minor material damage” to the compound, the Defence Ministry said in a statement, while there were reports later that more drones were targeting the site amid Iran’s retaliation across the Gulf to US-Israeli attacks.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US’s Rubio tries to justify attacks on Iran as driven by self-defencelist 2 of 4UN chief calls for ‘way out’ of Iran warlist 3 of 4Golestan Palace majorly damaged in US-Israeli strikes on Tehranlist 4 of 4How much could the Iran war cost the US? Here’s what we knowend of listUS President ⁠Donald Trump ⁠told the NewsNation media outlet that the US response to the embassy attack and the killing of four American service members would soon be made clear. “You’ll find out soon,” he said.Black smoke was ⁠seen rising over Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, which houses foreign missions, after the attack, the Reuters news agency reports.Three people told Reuters that a loud blast was heard and flames were seen at the embassy, though the Saudi Defence Ministry and one of the sources told the news agency that the fire in the aftermath of the drone attack was small in scale.The embassy building was empty at the time of the attack, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, and there were no reports of casualties.A source close to the Saudi military, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that air defences had intercepted four drones targeting Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter in the attack.Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said the US president’s behaviour – providing only snippets of commentary to individual news organisations, as in the case of the embassy attack – was “unprecedented” at a time when the country was engaged in a major conflict.