RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The U.S. State Department has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as attacks on the kingdom escalate, BBC News and The Guardian reported.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said Thursday that two people were killed and eight injured in an overnight attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, on the Gulf coast. Separately, the energy ministry said falling debris from a drone intercepted near an oil facility in the country’s southeast killed two more people, according to The Guardian. Neither attack was immediately claimed.
“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,” the State Department said, warning that “the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly,” according to BBC News.
Spokesperson Tommy Pigott called reports of similar withdrawals from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain “inaccurate,” saying the order covered only the embassy in Riyadh and its consulates.
Yemen’s Houthis have fired missiles and drones at Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers since July, when a four-year informal ceasefire unravelled. Their “maritime embargo” in the Bab al-Mandab Strait has helped push up oil prices, since Saudi Arabia has relied on Red Sea exports since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.
The drawdown comes as The New York Times reported that the U.S. and Israel have drawn up plans for a possible new operation against Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, The Guardian said. Trump has publicly said he does not intend to restart the war before the vote.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, Reuters
—
