Saudi Arabia faces more frequent and increasingly precise airstrikes, as Iran-linked groups in neighboring Yemen and Iraq exploit persistent deficiencies in the kingdom’s defense, and the Biden administration is reconsidering the US approach to the region.
Fixed-wing drones loaded with explosives and launched from Iraq exploded in the main royal complex in the Saudi capital Riyadh in such a strike on January 23, according to US officials and other people familiar with the incident.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have stepped up attacks across the kingdom’s southern border this month, including a strike last week that struck an empty passenger plane at a provincial airport. They also fired drones and missiles at a nearby military base and Jeddah International Airport, which the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Yemenis in Yemen said was intercepted.
The new revelations about the incidents show the limits of Saudi Arabia’s defense and the expansion of the country’s coverage, even though none of the incidents caused 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 weapons and aircraft. F-15 in an effective defensive system. .
They also stress the difficulties of stopping attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, which continue to pose a security threat, despite Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s vows to curb them.