Iran is escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia. This puts the Kingdom in a complex spot. It has supported the other Gulf countries that have come under attack from Iran.
It could also join the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in response to Iran’s attacks. However, it must also weigh its role in the wider region and what its goals will be as the war continues.
Arab News in Saudi Arabia reported on March 2 that “an official source at the Saudi Energy Ministry stated that at 7:04 a.m. on Monday, the Ras Tanura oil refinery sustained limited damage as a result of debris from the interception of two drones in its vicinity.”
This facility, in eastern Saudi Arabia on the Gulf coast, is near Bahrain. It is also near the large Abqaiq energy facility, which Iran attacked with drones and cruise missiles back in 2019. Saudi Arabia did not respond to that attack at the time.
Now Riyadh faces new Iranian attacks.
“Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said early Tuesday that eight drones were intercepted and destroyed near Riyadh and Al-Kharj. In an earlier statement, the ministry’s spokesperson said preliminary assessments indicated that two drones had targeted the US Embassy in Riyadh,” Arab News noted.
Saudi Arabia weighs its options
“The incident caused a limited fire and minor material damage to the building.”
The attack on the embassy and on Ras Tanura are both symbolic. One strikes at the energy infrastructure that helps fuel the Kingdom and has made it a powerful player on global markets.
The other attack strikes at the US-Saudi alliance. Riyadh is a key friend of the US. It has been a close partner of America for more than half a century. As such, it wants to show it can protect its airspace and also support the US.
Iran is showing it can strike at the heart of Saudi Arabia and also at oil and energy infrastructure.
Arab News noted, regarding the embassy attack, that “reports from early Tuesday morning described a loud blast and visible flames at the American embassy, with black smoke rising over Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, where many foreign missions are located.”
It added that according to two sources at Reuters, “there were no reported injuries, as the building was empty at the time of the incident in the early morning hours.”
Meanwhile, at Ras Tanura, Riyadh said that two drones had targeted the facility.
Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Turki Al-Maliki confirmed this in a statement to Arab News.
“Some operational units at the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure, without any impact on the supply of petroleum products to local markets,” the report said on March 2.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is looking at the Kingdom’s next options. Reports in Western media, such as at The Washington Post, suggested Riyadh had privately supported the US decision to strike Iran.
However, Saudi Arabia has been publicly cautious and appeared to urge the US to also be cautious.
According to Al-Arabiya, “Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries during a phone call on Monday.”
A report by the official Saudi Press Agency says that “the two leaders discussed regional developments as well as the Iranian attacks targeting the Kingdom and other brotherly countries.”
The Kremlin said that “both sides expressed serious concern about the real risks of the conflict spreading, which has already affected the territories of a number of Arab countries and could have catastrophic consequences.”