Saudi Arabia warned Iran it would be “the biggest loser” if it continued to attack Arab states, hours after Iran had named its new supreme leader. US President Donald Trump said the announcement of Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late supreme leader, as the Islamic Republic’s next ruler, was “unacceptable”. Saudi Arabia’s statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field and followed comments by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday which said Iran had halted its attacks on Gulf Arab states. “The kingdom affirms that the Iranian side has not implemented this statement in practice, neither during the Iranian president’s speech nor afterward,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The US State Department issued an order for non-emergency staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia after it announced a US service member had died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on the kingdom.

Source: Irish Examiner March 09, 2026 08:56 UTC