Diplomats told to shelter in Riyadh as drone debris injures six in Abu Dhabi

2026-03-05 - 15:54

Several explosions echoed over Doha hours after officials began evacuating residents near the US embassy. (AFP pic) RIYADH: Some Western embassy staff in Riyadh were told to shelter in place, diplomatic sources told AFP today, with drone debris injuring six people in Abu Dhabi as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf. The war in the Middle East has engulfed the otherwise stable Gulf region as Iran retaliates to US and Israeli strikes that killed its supreme leader, launching strikes at Israel, the wider region and beyond. At least 13 people have been killed in the Gulf, including seven civilians, since Iran began its attacks on Saturday. Washington said six US servicemen were killed, including four in Kuwait. In addition to the shelter-in-place order, a witness said the diplomatic quarter in the Saudi capital Riyadh had been closed off. The witness and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive security matter. Britain said today it was temporarily withdrawing some embassy staff and their dependants from Bahrain due to the security situation, adding that the embassy continues to operate despite the serious circumstances. Authorities in Abu Dhabi responded to falling debris at two sites in an industrial zone after air defences intercepted a drone, the emirate’s media office said. Six Pakistani and Nepalese nationals were injured, while the UAE later said its air defences detected seven ballistic missiles, intercepting six as one fell inside the country. Fresh waves of explosions, most from interceptions, also rocked Dubai, Doha and Manama today. In Doha, AFP journalists saw a plume of smoke rising from the Qatari capital and reported loud blasts across the city. Qatar’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted 13 Iranian ballistic missiles today, while one fell in Qatari waters, and four drones were also shot down, with no casualties reported. Earlier, Qatari authorities said they were evacuating residents living near Doha’s US embassy. The fresh salvos came hours after Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, during a call. The Qatari premier accused Iran of seeking to “harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs”, according to a statement from Qatar’s foreign ministry. In Saudi Arabia, officials said they had intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones. “Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj,” the Saudi defence ministry posted on X. Elsewhere, a tanker was hit by a “large explosion” in waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported.