Washington has ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia immediately. The decision comes as deadly Houthi strikes on the kingdom grow more intense and frequent.
A diplomatic source confirmed that all American personnel and their families at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia have been told to depart. Families of embassy workers in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain are also being evacuated. These countries have faced threats linked to the wider Middle East conflict.
US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott later clarified that the order applies only to non-emergency government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia. He stressed that the safety of Department personnel remains the top priority. The move follows repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and other sites this month, including a deadly strike on Riyadh’s international airport.
On Wednesday the Saudi energy ministry reported that debris from an intercepted drone near the Shaybah oilfield killed two workers, one Filipino and one Nepali, and injured two others. The ministry did not name the source of the drone. Earlier the same day the Saudi-led coalition said it had shot down six drones over Yemen.
The four-year truce in Yemen’s civil war collapsed in June, reigniting a conflict that began in 2014. Saudi Arabia has supported the internationally recognised Yemeni government since 2015 while the Iran-backed Houthis continue their campaign.
Late on Wednesday Iranian state media reported several explosions in Hormozgan province near the Strait of Hormuz. Officials have not yet explained the cause of the blasts. The strategic waterway normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil, and recent attempts to control shipping have raised global energy concerns.
The United States had previously withdrawn non-essential staff from the Gulf before earlier military actions. Officials now say the latest order reflects the rising danger from sustained Houthi strikes and the broader regional tensions.
