US State Department orders some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia amid rising Houthi attacks
The United States has instructed certain diplomatic staff and their families to depart Saudi Arabia after recent Houthi missile and drone strikes killed three people and injured others at an airport and an oil field.
The U.S. State Department has told non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia following a series of attacks that killed three people across the kingdom. Saudi officials said a drone intercepted during an attempted strike on the Shaybah oil field near the UAE border caused two fatalities, while a separate strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam resulted in one death and eight injuries ranging from minor to serious.
The attacks are part of a broader campaign by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi movement, which has been launching missiles and drones at Saudi airports, energy facilities and military sites in response to Saudi-led operations in Yemen. A recent strike on Riyadh’s international airport was described as the most lethal in the kingdom in years.
"The US Department of State issued an ordered departure for non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
"Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions," the spokesperson added.
The Saudi energy ministry has not identified who launched the drone that struck the Shaybah field. The conflict in Yemen, which began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, has seen intermittent fighting despite a four-year informal ceasefire that collapsed in July after the Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and intensified attacks on Saudi infrastructure. The embargo in the Bab al-Mandab Strait has contributed to higher global oil prices as Saudi Arabia relies on Red Sea routes for oil exports.