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The decision comes as Saudi Arabia faces repeated attacks on airports and energy infrastructure, raising security concerns across the Gulf region.
US and Saudi flags flutter along a highway of Riyadh. (Reuters file photos)
The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia amid increasingly frequent attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the US State Department said on Wednesday.
US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott clarified in a post on X that the order applied only to non-emergency US government employees and their families in Saudi Arabia, dismissing reports that all American embassy staff had been told to leave.
The decision comes as Saudi Arabia faces repeated attacks on airports and energy infrastructure, raising security concerns across the Gulf region.
“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority,” Pigott said, adding that Washington would take necessary steps to protect them.
This is inaccurate. The U.S. Department of State issued an ordered departure for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only.Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on… https://t.co/yNrCwDcfIg
— Tommy Pigott (@statedeptspox) October 21, 2026
Houthis Attacks Escalate
The US State Department linked the departure order to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure that have caused casualties and disrupted travel.
“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.
The US had previously ordered non-essential staff to leave parts of the Gulf ahead of its war with Iran and again in July, before President Donald Trump called off a fresh wave of strikes.
The latest withdrawal comes amid escalating fighting in Yemen, adding another front to the wider regional conflict that began in late February when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing its supreme leader and several senior military commanders. The conflict has disrupted global energy trade and put further pressure on Gulf economies.
2 Killed In Saudi Aramco Facility Attack
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said two people were killed and two others injured after debris from an intercepted drone fell near the Shaybah oil field in the country’s south-east, close to the United Arab Emirates border.
The two people killed were Filipino and Nepali nationals, while the injured were Indian and Pakistani nationals, according to the ministry. The falling debris also sparked a fire in a contractor’s vehicle.
The ministry did not identify who launched the drone. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had intercepted six drones earlier on Wednesday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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