The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and their family members to leave its missions in Saudi Arabia and plans to withdraw family members from other US missions in the Gulf region following a series of deadly attacks, US officials have told Reuters.
The withdrawals come after attacks in Saudi Arabia killed at least three people and injured eight others. One person was killed and eight injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, while two others died in a drone attack targeting a facility at Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the department had ordered the departure of “non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only,” citing attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi forces on civilian targets in the country.
Pigott said the Houthis had increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure, resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions.
Four US officials told Reuters that American missions in other Gulf states would also order family members to leave. However, Pigott did not comment on possible changes to diplomatic missions outside Saudi Arabia.
The latest withdrawals follow an escalation of fighting in Yemen, opening another front in the wider regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in late February. The conflict has disrupted global energy trade and affected Gulf economies.
Earlier on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said two people were killed after the country’s air defences intercepted a drone attempting to strike a facility at the Shaybah oilfield. The civil aviation authority later reported the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, which left one person dead and eight injured.
The US Embassy in Riyadh had issued a security alert warning of possible further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia following recent deadly strikes, including an attack on Riyadh’s airport.
The embassy and a CIA station operating from the facility were also targeted by drones in early March, as Iran launched attacks across the region.
