The Kingdom skyscraper is lit with textual content tat reads, ‘Lord, make this nation secure’ within the Saudi capital Riyadh on March 3, 2026. (AFP Photo)
March 18, 2026 07:40 PM GMT+03:00
Multiple explosions rocked the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday night, hours after Iran warned it could goal 5 oil and gasoline facilities throughout Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its South Pars gasfield, the biggest offshore gasfield on the earth.
Residents reported listening to at the very least 4 loud blasts over Riyadh, with Saudi authorities confirming air defenses had been partaking a ballistic missile risk over the capital.
A New York Times journalist in Riyadh reported witnessing what appeared to be an interceptor missile taking pictures up into the sky shortly after a number of loud booms echoed throughout town.
AFP journalists reported listening to the identical explosions, and Reuters witnesses corroborated at the very least two distinct booms. No instant particulars on casualties or harm had been obtainable.
Shortly after the blasts, at roughly 7:23 p.m. native time, residents acquired sudden nationwide warning alerts on their cellphones from Saudi Civil Defense. The bilingual message, issued in Arabic and English, warned that “the area is under a hostile aerial threat” and instructed folks to “remain calm, stay indoors or in a safe place away from windows and doors.”
The Gulf kingdom has been a recurring goal of Iranian missile and drone assaults for the reason that US-Israeli navy marketing campaign towards Iran started on February 28, with earlier strikes aimed toward Saudi Arabia’s huge energy installations and Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense wi-fi emergency alert despatched to residents’ cellphones in Riyadh on March 18, 2026. (Screengrab)
Iran names particular targets after South Pars assault
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran issued an express risk to strike energy infrastructure throughout three Gulf states. In a press release carried by the semiofficial Tasnim information company, Iranian authorities recognized 5 particular facilities: Saudi Arabia’s SAMREF refinery and Jubail petrochemical complicated, the UAE’s Al Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery and Mesaieed petrochemical complicated.
The risk adopted an assault on Iran’s South Pars discipline, positioned off the coast of southern Iran’s Bushehr province. Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum stated plenty of facilities sustained harm however reported no instant casualties, including {that a} hearth on the web site had been introduced below management. Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, attributed the strike to the Israeli air drive.
Israel and the United States have struck a variety of targets throughout Iran, together with oil facilities, for the reason that battle started.
Qatar condemns strike on shared gasfield
Qatar moved swiftly to denounce the Israeli assault, with international ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari noting that Iran’s South Pars discipline is a geological extension of Qatar’s personal North Field, making the strike a matter of direct nationwide concern.
Al-Ansari referred to as the assault “a dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region,” including that “targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment.”
He referred to as on all events to train restraint and work towards de-escalation.
March 18, 2026 08:02 PM GMT+03:00
