US orders diplomats to depart Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and family members to depart from its missions in Saudi Arabia and plans to withdraw family members from a number of other US missions in the region, US officials told Reuters.



The order came as attacks in Saudi Arabia killed at least one person and injured eight others at a civilian airport in Dammam and two people were killed in a drone attack on an oil field.



State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a post on X that the department ordered the departure of "non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only" amid attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen on civilian targets in the country.



Washington had returned some diplomatic personnel to the region in recent months after many were pulled out when Tehran launched attacks on US facilities after the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.



"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 said.