State Department Orders Non-Essential Staff and Families to Leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi Attacks Escalate
The State Department issued an ordered departure for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families in Saudi Arabia, citing intensifying Houthi attacks on airports and oil facilities that have killed civilians and disrupted travel.
The U.S. State Department has ordered all non-emergency American government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, a rare mandatory drawdown driven by a surge of Houthi attacks on airports and oil infrastructure across the kingdom.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott announced the ordered departure on X on Wednesday. “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,” he wrote. The order applies to Saudi Arabia only, Pigott said.
Deadly strikes on airports and an oil field
The move followed a brutal day in the kingdom. On Wednesday evening, an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed at least one person and injured eight others, according to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority, which said the airport’s damage was still being assessed. Earlier Wednesday, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted at least seven drones, including one aimed at the Shaybah oil field in the country’s Eastern Province; falling debris from that attack killed two expatriate workers and injured two more, according to CNN.
The State Department also issued a security alert warning Americans of potential attacks on airports and general travel disruptions. Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remain suspended, and U.S. government employees in Saudi Arabia now need special authorization from the chief of mission to use any airport in the kingdom, the alert said.
Allies send help as Trump holds off on strikes
The United States has increased its military support for the kingdom, boosting intelligence and targeting assistance, CNN reported. But President Donald Trump has so far decided against American strikes on the Houthis, and told reporters earlier this month that the attacks were “not acceptable” and that the U.S. “will look at” whether to join the Saudis.
Other allies have stepped in. Britain said Tuesday it will deploy fighter jets to help defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks, and Egypt pledged “all necessary and possible forms of support” in recent days.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and Gulf Business.
