US Orders Diplomats and Families Out of Saudi Arabia Amid Houthi Attacks
The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and family members to leave its mission in Saudi Arabia. US officials told Reuters that family members are also being planned for withdrawal from several other US missions in the region.
The order came after at least one person was killed and eight wounded in an attack on a civilian airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and two people were killed in a drone attack on an oilfield.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: 'In the context of attacks on civilian targets in the country by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, the department has ordered only US government employees who do not perform emergency work in Saudi Arabia, and their family members, to leave.'
After the US-Israel war on Iran began late last February, many personnel were withdrawn when Tehran attacked US facilities. In recent months, however, Washington had returned some diplomatic staff to the region.
Pigott said: 'Iran-backed Houthis have become increasingly hostile against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other important infrastructure. These incidents are causing civilian casualties.'
Four US officials told Reuters that US missions in other Gulf countries would also order their family members to leave. Pigott, however, said nothing about changes at missions outside Saudi Arabia.
The latest withdrawal came as fighting in Yemen intensified. The wider conflict has disrupted global energy trade and damaged Gulf economies.
After the departure order, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority reported an attack at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in which one person was killed and eight were wounded. The energy ministry said two people were killed earlier that day after Saudi air defences intercepted a drone that tried to strike a facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield.
After recent deadly attacks including one on Riyadh airport, the US embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert on Wednesday about possible further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. In early March, as Iran began attacks across the region, that embassy and a CIA station located there were hit by a drone attack.
The withdrawal has again highlighted the depth of continuing tensions in the Middle East. Removing diplomatic staff is generally seen as a clear signal of increased security risk.
For many South Asian countries including Bangladesh, stability in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region is important, because large numbers of expatriate workers work there and the region's conflict is directly linked to energy supplies.
Attention will now be on whether Washington decides to remove family members from other Gulf missions, and on which direction Houthi attacks and the regional fighting take next.
