Saudi Arabia is facing more and more precise airstrikes as groups linked by Iran in neighboring Yemen and Iraq exploit persistent gaps in the defense of the kingdom and the Biden government reconsiders the US approach to the region.
According to U.S. officials and other people familiar with the incident, fixed-wing bumblebees loaded with explosives launched from Iraq broke the main royal complex in the Saudi capital Riyadh in one such strike.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are in line with Iran, this month intensified attacks across the kingdom’s southern border, including a strike last week that struck an empty passenger jet at a provincial airport. They also launched drones and missiles at a nearby military base and intercepted Jeddah International Airport, which was intercepted by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
New revelations about the incidents show the limits of Saudi Arabia’s defense and the growing reach of the country’s enemies, although none of the incidents have yielded significant casualties. Although the kingdom’s military capabilities have improved in recent years, current and former US officials say Saudi Arabia still has a long way to go to better integrate its radars, Patriot batteries, short-range air defense rifles and F-15 jets into an effective one. defense system. .
They also point to the difficulties in curbing attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, which continue to pose a security threat, despite promises by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to use them.