Saudi Arabia has declared several Iranian embassy officials persona non grata and ordered them to leave the country, according to Al Jazeera. The officials, including Iran’s military attaché, were given 24 hours to depart. This action follows a similar decision by Qatar, which earlier expelled Iranian military and security attachés from its embassy in Doha.

Qatar’s decision came after an alleged Iranian attack on one of its main gas facilities, reportedly carried out in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field. The sequence of expulsions marks a sharp escalation in diplomatic friction between Iran and Gulf states.

Analysts cited in the report suggest that these diplomatic measures are adding complexity to an already volatile Middle Eastern situation, with regional tensions continuing to rise following recent military incidents.