WASHINGTON: The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia amid escalating security threats and deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, according to the US State Department.
The decision, announced on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, followed a series of attacks targeting Saudi territory and critical infrastructure. US officials cited growing security concerns as the regional conflict intensified.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott confirmed the departure order, saying the safety and security of American personnel and their families remained the government’s highest priority.
A diplomatic source separately told Agence France-Presse that families of US embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain had also been ordered to leave. However, the State Department’s public confirmation specifically covered non-emergency government employees and their families in Saudi Arabia.
The move came as Saudi Arabia faced repeated attacks attributed to the Houthis. On Wednesday, debris from a drone intercepted near the Shaybah oil field killed two people, a Filipino and a Nepali national, and injured two others, according to Saudi authorities. The drone’s origin was not officially identified.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported several explosions in the southern province of Hormozgan, near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The official IRNA news agency said the cause of the explosions remained unclear.
The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial global shipping route through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes during peacetime.
The latest developments have heightened concerns about regional security, energy infrastructure and international shipping as the conflict continues to threaten stability across the Middle East.
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