CIA station in Saudi capital hit in drone attack

"An internal State Department alert obtained by The Washington Post said the attack "collapsed" part of the embassy's roof and "contaminated" the inside with smoke. The notice said the embassy sustained "structural damage" and personnel "continue to shelter in place.""

"While the attack amounts to a minor setback for the spy agency's presence in Saudi Arabia, it may find significance to an embattled regime that has long viewed the CIA as its ultimate foe, given Washington's covert support for the 1953 military coup that ousted Iran's elected prime minister."

""Drawdowns are a part of the business," said one former officer who served in the Middle East. "The local liaison relationship is so tight I think the Saudis will roll out the red carpet" to accommodate the spy agency personnel. "There's a lot of redundancy built into these things.""

Two drones hit the U.S. Embassy complex in Riyadh on Monday in a suspected Iranian attack. The strike damaged the CIA's station, collapsing part of the roof and filling the interior with smoke, forcing personnel to shelter in place. While the U.S. and Saudi governments confirmed the drone attack, they did not publicly disclose that the CIA facility was targeted. Former CIA officers characterize the incident as a minor operational disruption, noting that redundancies and strong Saudi liaison relationships enable the agency to continue operations. The attack holds symbolic significance for Iran, which views the CIA as a historical adversary dating to the 1953 coup.

Read at The Washington Post