The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The US State Department announced the decision on Wednesday, citing growing security threats to the kingdom, including attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure.
“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,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a social media post.
“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority,” he added.
A diplomatic source in the Middle East told AFP that some families of US embassy personnel were also being withdrawn from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
However, Pigott stressed that the latest order applied only to non-emergency embassy staff and their families in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has faced near-daily attacks by the Houthis this month as the conflict intensifies.
A drone attack targeting the Shaybah oil field near the United Arab Emirates border killed two people and injured two others after falling debris from an intercepted drone struck the area, according to the Saudi energy ministry.
“The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others,” the ministry said.
The ministry did not identify those responsible for launching the drone.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen also reported intercepting six drones.
Separately, an attack on Dammam airport in eastern Saudi Arabia killed one person and injured eight others, aviation officials said.
The latest violence comes after the collapse of a four-year truce in Yemen’s civil war, reviving a conflict in which the Saudi-led coalition supports the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
The evacuation order comes amid wider regional tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Washington has previously ordered non-essential diplomatic personnel to leave parts of the Gulf ahead of military action against Iran and before President Donald Trump called off another planned wave of strikes.
Meanwhile, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported explosions in the southern province of Hormozgan, overlooking the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
“A few minutes ago, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, in Hormozgan Province,” IRNA reported.
The agency added that “local sources have not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions.”
The United States and Israel have launched attacks on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader and senior military commanders.
Iran has sought to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, demanding authorisation for vessels to pass through the waterway, which carries about a fifth of global oil supplies during peacetime.
In response, the United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships, further escalating the confrontation.
