Drones hit U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi officials say

Barak Ravid

Large American flag hanging upside down inside a courtyard with palm trees, a water fountain, beige buildings, and several black vehicles parked around. — The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was attacked with two drones, according to initial estimates, resulting in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building, a Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

The big picture: In the latest incident to hit a U.S. ally since Tehran began a wave of counterattacks following weekend airstrikes by American and Israeli forces on Iran, the United States Mission to Saudi Arabia issued a "shelter in place" notification for Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran following the attack.

Zoom in: The mission said it was limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region, adding: "We recommend American citizens in the Kingdom to shelter in place immediately."

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."

Go deeper: Earthquake in the Gulf: Iran war expands to dozen countries in 72 hours

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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Drones hit U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi officials say

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