Saudi Intercepts Drones Over Al-Jawf As UAE’s Fujairah Suspends Operations
A fire at the Fujairah oil facility in the UAE forced the suspension of some loading operations, as regional tensions intensified following drone threats and air defence interceptions across parts of the Gulf. Image courtesy: X.com/@ShaykhSulaiman
Saudi Arabia’s air defence systems have intercepted and destroyed drones over its Al-Jawf region, even as the United Arab Emirates’s Fujairah oil plant suspended oil loading operations after a fire on Saturday (March 14, 2026).
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister said its air defence systems identified and successfully neutralised the aerial drone threat over Al-Jawf in the country’s northern region.
In a statement, the Saudi Defence Ministry confirmed the “interception and destruction of a drone” after it was detected entering the airspace over the “Al-Jawf region in the north of the country.”
On Friday (March 13), Saudi Arabia had intercepted and destroyed nearly 50 drones that breached its airspace within a few hours.
The volume of drones sent into its airspace was an “unusually high level of aerial threats for Saudi Arabia,” the Defence Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the UAE’s Fujairah plant noted that some oil-loading operations at the facility were suspended. Fujairah is a key bunkering hub, and the reason for the suspension of operations was a fire in the facility.
The Fujairah fire came a day after the US hit Kharg Island, the main oil hub of Iran, on Friday (March 13).
The Fujairah fire was triggered when a drone, intercepted and destroyed by the UAE air defence systems, fell at the facility. No casualties were reported in the incident.
The security threat faced by nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE is a result of the West Asia war that began on February 28 after the US-Israeli combine launched airstrikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In the two weeks since that attack, almost all nations in West Asia came under Iranian retaliatory airstrikes. The war has escalated over the fortnight after retributive attacks from either side, particularly after Iran decided to target Israel and all its neighbouring countries that housed American military assets.
