Iran attacked Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait on Saturday, targeting American military targets in response to the joint U.S.-Israel military operation against the Iranian regime, the Associated Press and Gulf news outlets reported.
Jordan was also hit, according to a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, as reported by AFP. The attacks in the Gulf followed dozens of Iranian missiles fired at Israel.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned what it called the “blatant and cowardly Iranian attacks that targeted the Riyadh Region and the Eastern Province, which were successfully intercepted.”
The strikes “came despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran,” the Saudi ministry added.
Qatar also condemned the Iranian strikes and suggested it may retaliate. Doha “reserves its full right to respond to this attack in accordance with the provisions of international law and in a manner proportionate to the nature of the aggression,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
The Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported that at least one person was killed in Abu Dhabi from debris from an Iranian projectile.
Saudi Arabia also condemned Iranian attacks targeting its neighbors, in a statement by the kingdom’s official press agency.
“The kingdom strongly condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the brutal Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of the sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” said the statement.
The attacks on Gulf states took place hours after Israel and the U.S. launched what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled “Operation Roaring Lion” and the U.S. Defense Department calls “Operation Epic Fury,” a joint military campaign against the Islamist regime in Iran.
The Emirati Ministry of Defense announced that the UAE today was subjected to “a blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles,” and that interceptors “successfully intercepted a number of missiles,” WAM reported.
The fallen debris “resulted in one civilian death of an Asian nationality. The authorities confirmed that the security situation in the UAE remains stable and that all concerned entities are monitoring developments around the clock,” the statement said.
