The Middle East conflict intensified dramatically on Tuesday, as Israel and Iran exchanged strikes across multiple fronts while regional powers scrambled to respond to a rapidly widening confrontation stretching from Lebanon to the Gulf.

The day began with reports of Iranian drone attacks far beyond the immediate battlefield. Overnight, two Iranian drones struck the United States embassy compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The building had been emptied of personnel and no casualties were reported, but the attack marked a significant escalation and drew swift condemnation from Riyadh, which warned it reserved the right to respond to the ‘aggression’. Separate reports suggested the attack in Riyadh may have struck more than diplomatic facilities. A suspected Iranian drone reportedly hit a CIA station operating within the US embassy compound, collapsing part of the roof and filling the building with smoke.

Around the same time, Iranian drones struck fuel depots at the port of Duqm in Oman, hitting infrastructure in a country that had been acting as a mediator in talks between Tehran and Washington. Another Iranian drone attack was reported against oil facilities at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, suggesting Tehran was seeking to impose economic costs on regional energy infrastructure.

The conflict also intensified along Israel’s northern front. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching a swarm of suicide drones towards Israel’s Ramat David airbase early in the morning, targeting radar installations and command facilities.........

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