ع
The US State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency government employees and their families from Saudi Arabia, a move announced by spokesperson Tommy Pigott on October 21, 2026. Pigott wrote on X that 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. He stressed that the safety and security of department personnel and their families remain the highest priority. The order follows partial returns of diplomatic staff after widespread evacuations when the US-Israeli war on Iran erupted in late February.
Saudi officials said a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport this month killed at least 12 people, one of them American, and injured more than 300, according to CBS News. An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one and injured eight on October 21 while a drone strike on the Shaybah oilfield killed two foreign workers and wounded two others, the Saudi energy ministry reported. These assaults have forced suspension of operations at affected airports and created severe travel disruptions throughout the kingdom.
The surge in violence erupted after the Houthis abandoned a 2022 truce in July 2026 and seized territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast including the port of Mokha, prompting a Saudi-backed counteroffensive that has since regained control of some areas, Reuters reported. United Nations data places the number of people displaced in Yemen since August at nearly 260,000 with half seeking refuge in Taiz province. The Houthis have also struck Saudi oil infrastructure and maritime targets in the Bab el-Mandab strait in actions that a Soufan Center brief tied to efforts to disrupt the kingdom’s economic plans.
Four US officials told Reuters that family members at diplomatic missions in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain may also be ordered to leave even though Pigott called wider withdrawal reports inaccurate. The US embassy in Riyadh released a security alert warning of the potential for additional Houthi strikes on civilian targets. Some diplomatic personnel had only recently returned to the region after earlier drawdowns linked to direct Iranian attacks on US facilities.
The State Department action aligns with a quiet scaling back of the US military presence at bases across the Middle East in response to threats from the Houthis and Iran, CBS News reported citing US officials. Troops at installations in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait have been affected by the reductions that leave only small footprints for air defence and security. Senior military commanders have presented options for further action against Iranian targets as President Trump weighs next steps.
A resolution before the European Parliament described the Riyadh airport attack as a grave violation of international law while highlighting that Houthi activities continue to endanger maritime security in the Red Sea. The parliament noted that the conflict has left 2.2 million children under five suffering from acute malnourishment. Humanitarian agencies have reached more than 170,000 displaced people but face growing access constraints and resource shortages, according to UNOCHA updates.
