US orders non-emergency staff and families out of Saudi Arabia after attacks
In short
The US State Department ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia, citing increased Houthi hostilities. Saudi authorities reported one person killed and eight injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and two deaths at Aramco's Shaybah oilfield. Reports of a wider Gulf withdrawal are disputed.
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The US State Department has ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia. Spokesman Tommy Pigott announced the order in a post on X, saying it covered "non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only". Reuters reported, citing US officials, that the department ordered some diplomats and family members to depart its Saudi missions. [ 4 , 5 ]
Pigott said the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen had "increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia", including strikes on civilian airports that caused deaths and "severe travel disruptions". Emirates 24|7 reported that the latest withdrawals follow an escalation of fighting in Yemen, which it described as opening another front in the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran. [ 4 , 5 ]
After the departure order, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority reported an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. One person was killed and eight were injured, it said. Flightradar24 reported that operations at the airport had been halted since about 11.15pm local time. Earlier, two people died when Saudi air defences intercepted a drone aimed at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield, the Energy Ministry said. [ 4 , 5 ]
Oil advanced on news of the airport attack, The National reported. Brent climbed above $110 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate traded at about $98. [ 4 ]
The scope of the order is disputed. Pigott called reports of a Gulf-wide order "inaccurate" and denied it extended to US diplomatic families in the wider region. However, four US officials told Reuters that missions in other Gulf states would also order family members to depart, and a diplomatic source told AFP that families in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain had been told to leave. The State Department has not confirmed either account. The US mission in the UAE had earlier warned that the hostilities "have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area". [ 4 , 5 ]
Gulf News headlines linked the order to explosions reported near the Strait of Hormuz, citing Iran state media. No further details of those explosions are given in the available text. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The order follows attacks on Saudi civilian and energy sites in which people died, and oil prices rose, according to The National. Whether other Gulf missions will also pull out family members remains unconfirmed.
Key facts
- State Department spokesman 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". [ 4 , 5 ]
- Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority reported an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam that killed one person and injured eight. [ 4 , 5 ]
- Two people were killed when Saudi air defences intercepted a drone aimed at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield, the Energy Ministry said. [ 4 , 5 ]
- Pigott said the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen had increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civilian airports. [ 4 ]
- Brent crude climbed above $110 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate traded at about $98 after the airport attack news. [ 4 ]
- Gulf News headlines also reported explosions heard near the Strait of Hormuz, citing Iran state media. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The US ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia. [ 4 , 5 ]
- An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight, according to Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Two people died when a drone aimed at Aramco's Shaybah oilfield was intercepted, according to the Energy Ministry. [ 4 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Whether US diplomatic families in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain are being ordered to leave. Pigott called reports of a Gulf-wide order inaccurate, but four US officials told Reuters that other Gulf missions would also order family members to depart, and a diplomatic source told AFP families in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain were told to leave. The State Department has not confirmed either account.
- The cause and extent of the explosions heard near the Strait of Hormuz. Only headlines citing Iran state media are available; no details are given.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Flightradar24 reported operations at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam had been halted since about this time. [ 4 ]
- Gulf News published a live report linking the US embassy order with explosions reported near the Strait of Hormuz. [ 1 ]
- Gulf News reported explosions heard near the Strait of Hormuz, citing Iran state media. [ 2 ]
- Gulf News reported the Saudi airport attack that killed one person, alongside the US order for embassy departures. [ 3 ]
- The National reported that the US had pulled diplomats from Saudi Arabia while denying a wider Gulf withdrawal. [ 4 ]
- Emirates 24|7 reported the departure order, citing US officials who spoke to Reuters. [ 5 ]