Drone Strikes Again Hit the US Consulate in Dubai, American Embassies in the Middle East Paralysed

Dubai — A drone attack believed to have been launched by the Iranian military struck the parking area outside the United States Consulate in Dubai on Tuesday, 3 March 2026. The incident sparked a large fire and plumes of black smoke amid Tehran’s widening retaliation for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that all diplomatic personnel were safe. Nevertheless, he stated that US diplomatic facilities are now under direct attack from the Iranian regime.

‘A drone struck the parking area adjacent to the chancery building and ignited a fire. We are fortunate that there were no casualties, but we have begun to withdraw personnel to a bare-minimum level,’ Rubio told reporters on Tuesday afternoon, according to Time.com.

Mass closures

The closure of the Dubai mission occurred just a few hours after the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, experienced a similar incident. In response to the deteriorating security situation, the US Department of State took drastic action by indefinitely closing the embassy offices in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Lebanon.

As of now, six US military personnel have been reported killed since the conflict broke out last Saturday. Meanwhile, Iranian state media claimed the death toll on their side had reached at least 780 people as a result of the joint US-Israel aggression.