An attack by two drones early on Tuesday on the US embassy in Riyadh sparked a small fire, a Saudi defence ministry spokesman said in a statement, while Iran pressed on with retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump suggested that the United States would retaliate "soon" after the Riyadh embassy attack.

Speaking to the NewsNation network, he said "you'll find out soon" how the United States would respond, without providing further detail, after the US embassy confirmed a drone attack that caused "a limited fire and minor material damage."

"The US embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, according to initial assessments. The attack resulted in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building," the Saudi defence ministry said.

Fire engines were seen around the embassy.

Earlier, witnesses said they had seen smoke over the building housing the US mission and heard loud explosions in the diplomatic quarter, home to foreign embassies in the Saudi capital.

A source close to the Saudi army said defences intercepted four drones targeting Riyadh's diplomatic quarter in the attack.

In the aftermath, the US embassy issued shelter in place notifications for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran and limited non-essential travel to any military installations in the region.

Later in the day, the Saudi defence ministry said it had intercepted more than half a dozen drones near capital Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj.

"Eight drones were intercepted and destroyed near the cities of Riyadh and Al-Kharj," said ministry spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki on X.

The attacks in Saudi coincided with a wave of missiles and drones launched at Gulf states with the UAE defence ministry saying it was dealing with a barrage of ballistic missiles coming from Iran.

In Qatar, the military intercepted two ballistic missiles early on Tuesday morning, the country's defence ministry said in a statement.

Iran's salvos have hit ports, airports, residential buildings and hotels along with military sites across the wealthy region of oil giants.

On Monday smoke was seen pouring out of Kuwait City's US embassy.

Later, a Kuwait-based diplomat and a Western diplomat said the embassy had been damaged by several drones, while a second Kuwait-based diplomat said the building had been struck directly. (AFP)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden