Saudi Arabia in March 2026: the most important developments in security
Saudi Arabia in March 2026 was under repeated Iranian drone and missile attack during the war between Iran and the United States. The most widely reported incident was the night of 3 March, when drones hit the US embassy in Riyadh, starting a limited fire and a shelter-in-place order. The United States evacuated its embassies in Kuwait and Iraq, and President Donald Trump suggested retaliation. An Iranian envoy denied that Tehran ordered the attack on the embassy. The day before, drones had struck the Ras Tanura oil refinery, causing a fire and a shutdown; the Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility. On 4 March Iran denied attacking Saudi Arabia and said it was targeting only US military assets.
The attacks continued for the rest of the month. Saudi air defences reported intercepting drones and missiles almost daily around Riyadh, the Eastern Province, the Shaybah oil field and Prince Sultan Air Base. On 8 March a projectile hit a residential building and killed two people, one of them an Indian national. On 18 March ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and the Eastern Region injured four people. A drone struck the Yanbu refinery on 19 March, starting a fire with minimal damage. On 22 March reports said Iran had scaled back its strikes on Saudi Arabia.
US forces in the kingdom were also hit. A seventh US service member died of wounds sustained in Saudi Arabia, and on 28 March an Iranian strike on a Saudi base wounded more than a dozen US troops while Houthi forces were said to have entered the wider conflict. Saudi Arabia warned Iran that retaliation was possible, and its foreign minister said the kingdom reserved the right to military action. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan reaffirmed their defence pact, and Saudi Arabia planned to buy air defence systems from Ukraine.
Separately, Saudi authorities arrested thousands of people in a one-week crackdown, recording more than 22,000 violations of residency and labour laws.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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