Saudi Arabia is facing more frequent and increasingly precise air strikes as Iran-linked groups in neighboring Yemen and Iraq are exploiting lingering gaps in the defense of the kingdom and the Biden administration is rethinking the US approach to the region.
Fixed-wing drones loaded with explosives and launched from Iraq struck the main royal complex in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in one such attack on Jan. 23, according to US officials and other people familiar with the incident.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have escalated attacks across the kingdom’s southern border this month, including a strike last week that hit an empty passenger jet at a provincial airport. They also launched drones and missiles against a nearby military base and Jeddah International Airport, which had intercepted 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, even though none of the incidents resulted in significant casualties. While the kingdom’s military capabilities have improved in recent years, current and former US officials say Saudi Arabia still has a lot of work to do to better integrate its radars, Patriot batteries, close-range air defense guns and F-15 jets in an effective defense system. .
They also point to the difficulties of slowing down attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, which remain a security threat despite Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s vows to contain them.