Saudi Arabia has said that its air defences had intercepted and destroyed several drones launched from Iraqi territory targeting oil facilities in the kingdom.
A defence ministry statement said on Monday that the drones were shot down over the past several hours before they could reach petroleum facilities in the Eastern Province and the Riyadh region.
The attempted attacks originated from Iraqi territory and were carried out by “Iran-backed terrorist militias,” the statement added.
“Saudi Arabia reserves its legitimate right to defend itself, its territory and critical infrastructure, and retains the right to respond at the appropriate time and place,” the ministry said.
The Saudi foreign ministry condemned the attacks and stressed the kingdom's determination “to safeguard its security and sovereignty, deter aggressors, and exercise its right to respond to the sources of the attacks.”
It called on the Iraqi government to take all necessary measures to ensure that Iraqi territory is not used as “a launching point” for attacks against Saudi Arabia.
There has been no comment from Iraq on the Saudi statement as of yet.
The incident comes despite a recent lull in direct military exchanges between the US and Iran.
On Sunday, an Iranian military spokesperson said Tehran halted its military operations after the US had stopped its attacks against Iran in the past two days.
According to Axios, US President Donald Trump ordered the military to suspend further strikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of daily attacks.
Tensions between the US and Iran have intensified in recent weeks, with Washington carrying out attacks on Iran and Tehran responding by targeting what it said were US military facilities and equipment in countries across the region.
