In a significant escalation, Iran has targeted a CIA facility within the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, as tensions mount over alleged U.S. efforts to support militant activities against the Iranian government.
On Monday, a suspected Iranian drone launched an attack on the CIA station located in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. This incident occurred just two days after the CIA reportedly identified the whereabouts of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, resulting in a strike that led to his death.
An internal alert from the State Department disclosed that the drone strike by Tehran caused partial collapse of the station’s roof and filled the compound with smoke, as reported by the Washington Post.
The attack inflicted structural damage on the facility, prompting a directive for personnel to seek immediate shelter within the premises.
While both the U.S. and Saudi authorities confirmed that two drones struck the embassy complex, they withheld specific details regarding the CIA station being affected, according to the Post’s report.
Details remain scarce concerning any casualties, as it is not yet confirmed whether any CIA officers or staff were injured or killed in the assault.
The CIA has long been viewed by the Islamic regime as its arch-enemy, in part because of the agency’s history of covert efforts aimed at undermining its leadership.
Tehran’s attack also comes as the spy agency works to arm Kurdish militants inside the country in an effort to foment an uprising following the ayatollah’s death.
The US embassy headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is photographed Tuesday after it was hit by suspected Iranian drone strikes. The Washington Post reported that the CIA station located at the embassy was blown up
President Donald Trump ordered the launch of ‘Operation Epic Fury’ starting on Saturday, which has now led to the death of six American troops
An undated photo of the US embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh. The Washington Post uncovered that a CIA station located at the embassy complex sustained some damage from two suspected Iranian drones on Tuesday
The Daily Mail has contacted the CIA for comment.
Top White House officials have been in active discussions with Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support to strike the regime.
Iranian Kurdish militants have thousands of soldiers along the Iraq-Iran border with major support in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, this semi-autonomous region has served as a safe haven for local Kurdish groups that pose a military threat to Iran’s regime.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has targeted these groups with dozens of drone strikes since the start of the war on Saturday.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday reportedly spoke with the president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, one of the major Kurdish opposition groups targeted by Tehran’s military.
The Sunni Muslim group has engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Iranian military and the IRGC.
‘Operation Epic Fury’ wiped out much of Iran’s top leadership over the weekend as part of a joint US–Israeli military campaign aimed at crippling the regime after Trump’s diplomatic talks collapsed last week.
Smoke rises from an Israeli strike in Beirut on Tuesday
Smoke plumes billow following Israeli bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs
Iran’s capital of Tehran has been ravaged by US-Israeli airstrikes since Saturday
Iran retaliated to the US and Israeli strikes with a barrage of missiles at neighboring nations – some of which broke through air defense systems (seen in Dubai)
Trump’s war has now spiraled across the Middle East, with Israeli cities and several Gulf allies coming under Iranian drone and missile attacks
Despite the death of the ayatollah, the Islamic government appears to remain in control of the country. The CIA’s reported efforts to arm Kurdish militants could pose one of the most existential threats to the regime.
Trump’s war has now spiraled across the Middle East, with Israeli cities and several Gulf allies coming under Iranian drone and missile attacks.
The US has responded with a wave of airstrikes aimed at crippling Iran’s military bases and remaining leadership.
American embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE have been struck by drones. The State Department has ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel in response.
A total of six American troops are dead following the launch of ‘Operation Epic Fury, ‘ while nearly two dozen remain hospitalized from injuries.
