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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States Department of State confirmed late Wednesday that it had issued an "ordered departure" for non-emergency US government personnel and their family members in Saudi Arabia following increased attacks by the Iran-aligned Ansarullah movement, widely known as the Houthis.
“The U.S. Department of State issued an ordered departure for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only,” Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott posted on X.
“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 stated.
The remarks follow the latest wider round of escalation that began in mid-July, when the Saudi-aligned internationally recognized government in Aden disabled a runway at Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
The Houthis then launched ballistic missiles and drones at Abha International Airport and announced a blockade of Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, framing it as “siege for siege,” a reference to what they describe as a Saudi blockade of their ports.
Riyadh categorically denied the latter accusation. In response, Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck Hodeidah Port, while the Yemeni government's air force carried out strikes on Houthi missile and drone sites in Marib and Jawf.
In September, the Iran-aligned group launched a broad offensive across western Yemen, capturing the strategic Hodeidah districts of Hays and Khawkhah before advancing on the Red Sea port city of Mokha, Perim, and the Hanish Islands, taking control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline and strengthening their leverage over international shipping lanes critical to Saudi Arabia's oil exports.
The Houthis also struck economic and military sites in the Kingdom's southern cities, including Abha, Jizan, and Khamis Mushait, causing fires and injuries.
“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them,” Pigott stated.
Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone targeting the Shaybah oil field in the country's Eastern Province earlier Wednesday, sparking a vehicle fire that killed a Filipino and a Nepalese resident and injured two others, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
"The interception resulted in a fire breaking out in a vehicle belonging to a contractor working in the field, outside the facility's perimeter, with no impact on operations," an official source at the Ministry of Energy told SPA, noting that the incident also left a Pakistani and an Indian resident wounded.
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation earlier in August reported a deadly strike that killed 12 people and injured 309 others, followed by another projectile attack a day later that resulted in one death and 11 injuries.
