The State Department has ordered nonessential U.S. government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, as attacks tied to Iran-backed Houthi forces escalate against the kingdom. The order, issued Wednesday, covers staff at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and its satellite consulates, and comes as Houthi strikes have hit civilian airports and energy infrastructure in recent weeks.
Embassy Moves to Emergency Staffing Only
According to Politico, the State Department ordered nonessential U.S. government employees and their family members to depart Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The move specifically targeted the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and its satellite consulates, as reported by U.S. News & World Report. As CBS News first reported, the order was issued amid an increase in attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have carried out a growing number of strikes against the kingdom.
The embassy in Saudi Arabia is now under what's known as ordered departure, meaning it will operate only with emergency staff, per NBC News. That restricted-operations status, as CBS News notes, allows embassies to scale back staffing and services without fully shutting down. Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, according to CNN, which reported that the attacks have included strikes on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure, resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions.
Airport and Oil Field Strikes Behind the Warning
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert Wednesday warning of possible further Houthi attacks, according to Reuters. Saudi officials said a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight others, the same report states. Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry separately said debris from an intercepted drone killed two people and injured two others at an Aramco-operated oil field, according to the U.S. News & World Report account.
Casualty figures from an earlier strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport have varied between news outlets. One CBS News report said the strike killed 12 people and injured more than 300 others, including one American, while a separate CBS News report put the death toll at 13, including a U.S. citizen, in a strike dated Oct. 10. The discrepancy between those two counts has not been resolved.
Travel Restrictions Tighten for U.S. Personnel
U.S. government employees still in Saudi Arabia now need special authorization from the Chief of Mission to use any airport in the country, according to UPI. A State Department travel advisory had already urged Americans to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to the risk of drone and missile attacks targeting American interests by Iran and the Iranian-supported Houthis, per the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia's own advisory page.
The United Kingdom has offered Saudi Arabia support, including defensive air operations, CBS News reported. The moves in Saudi Arabia are unfolding alongside a broader drawdown: the U.S. military has been quietly scaling back its troop presence at bases across the Middle East in recent days, and the State Department is ordering a further reduction in staff at multiple diplomatic posts in the region, according to NBC News.
Questions Remain Over Scope of the Order
Reuters reported that U.S. officials said family members would also be withdrawn from a number of other U.S. missions in the Gulf region, and that embassies in other Gulf countries were slated for temporary staffing changes. But State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott pushed back on a report that the orders could apply to other Gulf states, telling CBS News the ordered departure applies specifically to Saudi Arabia.
Analysts cited by CBS News have pointed to the Houthis' use of relatively inexpensive, Iranian-supplied or Iranian-designed drones as a key element of their tactics against Saudi targets. It remains unclear how many personnel and family members are covered by the ordered departure, how long the restrictions will remain in place, or what embassy services will still be available to Americans in the kingdom in the meantime.
