Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks on their territory Monday amid a lull in U.S. air strikes against Iran, following nearly two weeks of fighting between both sides. According to the Israel Defense Forces, military personnel shot down two drones over the Jordan border near the Dead Sea on Monday morning, with the army noting the devices did not cross into Israeli territory and their origin remained under investigation.
Regional Drone Incidents Span Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq
The regional security situation escalated further as Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry reported shooting down drones aimed at petroleum targets in its eastern province and the capital Riyadh. According to the ministry, those drones were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed militias, prompting Riyadh to state that it reserves the right to respond. Satellite imagery circulating on social media appeared to show damage at Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility in the country’s eastern region, accompanied by separate footage showing a large plume of smoke rising following the reported attack. While Iran-backed militias in Iraq had not claimed regional attacks since the resumption of hostilities this month after an April ceasefire broke down, Saudi Arabia was repeatedly targeted by the same groups earlier in the war that erupted in February.
In a separate development, Yemen’s Houthi movement stated they targeted transit sites carrying oil west to Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea oil port of Yanbu. According to the Houthis, the action was in retaliation for what they described as Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace. Riyadh did not immediately comment on those claims, which followed several days of traded strikes sparked by a Houthi blockade of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea oil industry that sent oil prices higher. In response, Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on what it identified as Houthi military facilities in Yemen’s Hodeidah port to protect shipping. This flare-up marks the first time in years that Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have traded blows, threatening a 2022 truce that had held despite expiring.
Jordanian forces also shot down two drones, according to official reports, while Iraqi security sources documented a series of drone attacks targeting camps housing Iranian opposition Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. Neither Jordanian nor Iraqi officials identified the sources of the drones in those specific incidents. Both Jordan and northern Iraq previously served as locations where four U.S. service members were killed during the two-week air campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump suspended over the weekend after military leadership advised him that the strategy had run its course.
Diplomatic Stance and U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Context
Iran has stated it will pause its own attacks as long as President Trump’s self-imposed ceasefire continues, though Tehran also maintained it remains in control of the contested Strait of Hormuz and is not seeking to resume peace talks with the U.S. The conflict began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic aimed at destabilizing the regime and destroying its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Iran responded with regional missile and drone strikes and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that previously carried about a fifth of the world’s commercial oil shipments. Hezbollah also joined the fighting in support of Iran by opening fire on Israel.
An April 8 truce temporarily halted the fighting, and the U.S. and Iran subsequently reached a memorandum of understanding for peace talks last month, though Israel was not a party to that agreement or the talks. The U.S. resumed strikes against Iran in response to continued Iranian actions against Hormuz shipping, leading to 13 successive nights of bombing before President Trump ordered an end to the campaign. According to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the suspension was designed to allow room for negotiations with Tehran. However, during a televised press conference on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei asserted that Iran had not asked to resume peace talks with the U.S., claiming that reports of Iran requesting negotiations are fabricated and that diplomacy continues only through messages passed via intermediaries.
Potential Future Scenarios
As diplomatic channels remain strained and regional actors assess the suspension of U.S. airstrikes, several developments could unfold next.
