Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said Wednesday that it intercepted seven drones heading toward an oil field in the southeast of the kingdom.

“Two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were intercepted and destroyed,” the ministry said in a post on X, adding in separate statements that another five drones were also shot down.

The Shaybah oil field, located near the border with the United Arab Emirates, is operated by Aramco, one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization, and is a key component of the kingdom’s oil production.

In a separate development, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles in attacks targeting an air base and the kingdom’s eastern region, as Iran renewed strikes across the Gulf.

“Six ballistic missiles launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base were intercepted and destroyed,” the defense ministry said, adding that another missile aimed at the eastern region was also shot down.

Prince Sultan Air Base, located in Al Kharj province, was previously targeted in a March 1 strike in which a US soldier was injured and later died a week afterward.

Saudi forces also intercepted a wave of nine drones during the attacks, including five destroyed east of Al Kharj province, according to the defense ministry.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates said its air defenses were responding to a fresh missile and drone attack from Iran on Wednesday, though authorities did not specify the number of projectiles or the intended targets.

The regional escalation follows Iranian strikes earlier this week. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday they launched a new salvo of missiles at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, as well as US targets across the region.

The elite force later said it had targeted US bases in Bahrain and Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Iranian media reports early Wednesday.

In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, the Guards said “a mass” of ballistic missiles had been fired at the base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and at three other facilities in Iraq’s Kurdish region.

Bahrain has already faced multiple waves of Iranian drones and missiles, which authorities say have killed two people so far.