A security alert has been issued in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, after witnesses reported seeing smoke rising over the city’s northern area — raising concerns amid escalating regional tensions in the Middle East.
Earlier today, diplomats and embassy staff in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, Al Safarat, received instructions to move to secure locations due to a potential threat reportedly linked to Iran, according to sources who spoke with Reuters.
This is the first such incident reported in Riyadh on March 5, 2026. However, the nature of the threat remains unconfirmed.
The gates leading into the Diplomatic Quarter — a neighborhood in the western part of Riyadh that hosts most foreign missions in the country — were closed this afternoon, two sources confirmed.
The situation comes amid a broader regional conflict, as countries across the Middle East have come under Iranian strikes following U.S. and Israeli military actions against the Islamic Republic.