The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, the State Department announced on Wednesday, as the kingdom faces sustained attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a social media post that the ordered departure covers “non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia.”
“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,” Pigott stated.
“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority.”
A diplomatic source in the Middle East told AFP that some families of U.S. embassy personnel were also being withdrawn from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
Pigott, however, stressed that Wednesday’s official order applied only to non-emergency staff and their families in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has come under near-daily Houthi attacks this month, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was among the kingdom’s deadliest in years.
On Wednesday, the Saudi energy ministry reported that falling debris from an intercepted drone targeting an oil facility killed two people, a Filipino, a Nepali, and injured two others.
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