The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia amid escalating attacks linked to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.
The US State Department announced the decision on Wednesday, citing worsening security conditions and attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure across the kingdom.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the Houthis had intensified hostilities against Saudi Arabia, resulting in civilian casualties and major travel disruptions.
He said protecting US government personnel and their families remained a priority.
A diplomatic source in the Middle East also told AFP that families of US embassy personnel were being withdrawn from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
However, Pigott clarified that the formal departure order announced on Wednesday applied to non-emergency staff and their families in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has faced repeated attacks this month as the conflict involving the Houthis escalates.
In one incident, debris from an intercepted drone targeting an oil facility killed two people and injured two others, according to the Saudi energy ministry.
The ministry identified the victims as a Filipino and a Nepali national. The drone was reportedly targeting the Shaybah oil field near the border with the United Arab Emirates, but the ministry did not identify who launched it.
Separately, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it had intercepted six drones.
A further attack on Dammam airport in eastern Saudi Arabia reportedly killed one person and injured eight others, according to aviation officials.
The latest escalation follows the collapse in June of a four-year truce in Yemen’s civil war, reviving hostilities in a conflict that began in 2014.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2015.
The US embassy departure order also comes amid broader tensions involving Iran and other countries in the Gulf region.
Washington had previously ordered non-essential personnel to leave parts of the Gulf before the United States entered its conflict with Iran in late February. Another departure order followed in July, before President Donald Trump called off a further round of strikes.
Iranian state media reported explosions in Hormozgan province late on Wednesday.
The state-run IRNA news agency said explosions were heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, but local sources had not established their cause.
The wider confrontation has also affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that handles roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies during peacetime.
Iran has sought to restrict passage through the strait by requiring ships to obtain authorisation before crossing, while the United States has imposed restrictions targeting Iranian ports and vessels.
The developments have heightened security concerns across the Gulf, with implications for diplomatic personnel, civilian travel and energy infrastructure.
