Sunday, July 5, 2026

U.S. closes Gulf embassies as Iran intensifies retaliatory attacks

The State Department made the decision on Tuesday after the embassy in Riyadh was targeted by two Iranian drones late Monday night.

• March 3, 2026
U.S. flag and ruins in Iran.
U.S. flag and ruins in Iran(Used to illustrate the story)

The United States has shut down its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as Iran intensifies retaliatory attacks on American installations in the Middle East with drones and missiles amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli campaign against Islamic republic. 

The State Department made the decision on Tuesday after the embassy in Riyadh was targeted by two Iranian drones late Monday night, causing minor damage to the facility. The incident occurred after a drone attack caused fire at the American Embassy compound in Kuwait a day earlier. 

Following through on the threat made in the event of an attack on Iran, the Iranian regime ratcheted up attacks on American infrastructures in Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, which the regime had warned that they were targets. 

As the military operation, which President Donald Trump suggested could run for weeks, enters its fourth day, the U.S. government ordered its citizens in 14 countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Israel (the West Bank and Gaza) to leave immediately due to serious safety risks.

“The @SecRubio @StateDept urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks.

“Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means, CALL US 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad) and +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. and Canada),” the U.S. assistant secretary Mora Namdar said in an X post Monday.

Meanwhile, airspace remain closed in several countries in the Gulf region, causing travel disruption for thousands of passengers. 

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