Saudi Arabia intercepts 61 drones overnight in eastern Saudi — defense ministry confirms

Saudi Arabia's defense ministry announced on March 16 that it had intercepted more than 60 drones since midnight, publishing a series of statements on X detailing the interception of a cumulative total of 61 drones overnight in eastern Saudi Arabia. The Times of Israel reported the announcement on its March 16 liveblog. Eastern Saudi Arabia is home to the country's principal oil fields and refinery infrastructure, including Abqaiq — the world's largest oil processing facility — and the Ras Tanura export terminal. The region also hosts US military presence. Iran has been targeting Gulf states throughout the conflict on grounds that they are hosting US forces used in the campaign against Iran. 61 drones in a single overnight wave represents a significant escalation in the volume of Iranian drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, which had previously seen smaller interception tallies. Saudi Arabia has maintained high intercept rates using US-supplied THAAD and Patriot systems. No reports of successful impacts or casualties were immediately available.