Saudi Arabia’s armed forces shot down 51 drones in the first five hours of Saturday alone, surpassing all of Friday’s intercepts, as Iran intensified strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure following Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field earlier this week.

Saudi defense ministry posts on X showed the attacks concentrated on the Kingdom’s Eastern Province — home to its major oil fields and refineries. A total of 92 drones have been intercepted since Friday.

The latest figures bring the total number of drone strikes targeting Saudi Arabia to at least 575 since February 28, according to a tally based on defense ministry reports.

In addition to the drones, Saudi air defenses have intercepted 42 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles over the same period, underscoring the sustained and varied nature of the aerial campaign against the kingdom.

The strikes extend across the Gulf. In Dubai, heavy explosions shook the city Friday as residents celebrated Eid Al-Fitr. The UAE's Ministry of Defense reported intercepting 26 drones and four ballistic missiles that day, bringing cumulative totals since February 28 to 1,740 drones, 338 ballistic missiles, and 15 cruise missiles.

In Kuwait, two drone waves struck the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery — one of the Middle East’s largest, with a capacity of 730,000 barrels per day — sparking fires a day after it was first hit. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry also reported a warehouse fire from intercepted projectile shrapnel.

US and Israeli leaders claim weeks of strikes have gutted Iran’s military, killing its supreme leader, top security officials, and much of its senior command. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday that Iran’s navy was sunk, its air force crippled, and its ballistic missile production destroyed.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard pushed back, with spokesman Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini insisting production continued uninterrupted. “We are producing missiles even during war conditions,” he said, adding Iran had no intention of seeking a quick end to the conflict.

Shortly after, Iranian state television reported Naeini was killed in an airstrike.

New Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — who rose to power after his father was killed in an Israeli strike on the war’s first day — issued a rare statement warning that Iran’s enemies must have their “security” taken away.

- Arab News