The US State Department ordered non-emergency US government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, as Houthi strikes hit civilian sites and disrupted travel. The agency said the measure applied only to its personnel and eligible relatives in the kingdom.
Tommy Pigott, a department spokesman, confirmed the order in a post on X. He said it covered “non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only.”
The department described the security step as an ordered departure. It requires designated staff and eligible relatives to leave their posts, while essential embassy operations generally continue.
Pigott tied the decision to intensified attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure. He said those attacks had caused civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions. The US Embassy in Riyadh also warned Wednesday of possible further Houthi attacks.
The department rejected reports of a broader Gulf evacuation
Accounts of the order's scope differed before Pigott's clarification. A diplomatic source said embassy families had also been ordered to leave the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain. Pigott said the directive applied to Saudi Arabia only.
Three US officials described preparations for an order affecting some personnel and family members at US embassies across the Gulf. They cited a possible resumption of hostilities, particularly involving the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen. Two said the move could potentially extend to all personnel and their families at the US Mission to Saudi Arabia.
Pigott rejected the wider interpretation in his post, writing, “This is inaccurate.” He repeated that only non-emergency government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia were covered. The stated order did not direct staff in the other named countries to depart.
Strikes have killed civilians and interrupted airport operations
A deadly attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 killed 13 people, including an American citizen, and injured hundreds. The airport suspended operations after the strike.
Limited domestic flights resumed Wednesday, but international services remained severely disrupted. Saudi-led coalition forces reported intercepting five Houthi drones targeting Medina that day. Earlier Wednesday, the coalition in Yemen said it had intercepted six drones.
A separate interception near the Shaybah oilfield killed two people and injured two others when debris fell. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said the victims were a Filipino and a Nepali. The ministry said the drone had targeted an oil facility.
The drone was aimed at a facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield in the Eastern Province, near the United Arab Emirates border. Saudi Arabia did not identify who launched it. The interception did not disrupt operations at the field, which has production capacity of approximately 1 million barrels per day.
Monday's claims remained unconfirmed as Saudi Arabia added defenses
The Houthis claimed Monday to have attacked several Saudi targets, including Shaybah, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, and airports in Riyadh and Abha. Saudi authorities had not confirmed the claims, and they could not be independently verified. It was unclear whether the reported Shaybah target was connected to Wednesday's incident.
Shaybah had been targeted before. A drone attack claimed by the Houthis in August 2019 started a fire at the field's natural gas liquids processing facility. Saudi Aramco reported no casualties then.
Britain announced Tuesday that Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets would fly defensive missions over Saudi Arabia to protect cities and critical infrastructure from missiles and drones. The deployment also includes an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers. Britain said the jets would not carry out offensive strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed the attacks in Riyadh on Wednesday. Safadi expressed Jordan's solidarity with Saudi Arabia and support for measures to protect its security, stability and sovereignty.
Regional alerts came as Houthi attacks spread concern beyond Saudi Arabia
American diplomatic missions issued coordinated security alerts on Sunday in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. They warned that fighting involving the Houthis could spread quickly and urged Americans to prepare for possible air-travel and service disruptions. The Trump administration increasingly views the attacks as a threat to Americans across the region, not only in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
The Houthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and large areas of the country's north. They have fought Saudi-backed Yemeni forces since July while continuing to use missiles and drones against Saudi targets.
The regional security concerns follow earlier staff departures. The United States previously ordered non-essential personnel to leave the Gulf before the war against Iran began, and again in July before President Donald Trump called off a new wave of strikes. Diplomats and family members had started returning to some Middle East posts in the weeks before the latest move.
Yemen's four-year-old truce collapsed in June. The civil war dates to 2014, and the Saudi-led coalition has backed the internationally recognised government since 2015.
