U.S. ordering some staff to depart Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

The U.S. State Department has ordered non-essential U.S. embassy personnel and their family members to depart Saudi Arabia, following an uptick in attacks on the kingdom by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

The department “issued an ordered departure for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only,” spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote in a Wednesday X post, pushing back on a report that orders could apply to other Gulf states.

CBS News has learned several other embassies adjusted their staffing under “restricted operations” status, but have not gone on ordered departure, which involves the mandatory evacuation of designated diplomatic staff and accompanying family due to security risks.

The restricted operations status, which the department introduced in August amid flare-ups in the war with Iran, allows embassies to reduce staffing and services without fully suspending operations. 

The decision to draw down personnel in Saudi Arabia comes after U.S. embassies in the kingdom, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries issued warnings over the weekend, urging Americans in the region to exercise caution and prepare for travel disruptions due to Houthi attacks.

“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,” Pigott said Wednesday.

The Houthis have launched drones and missiles at airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, including a strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport earlier this month that killed 12 people and injured more than 300 others. One American was among those killed.

The attacks have continued, with a Saudi-led military coalition reporting that it intercepted multiple Houthi drones on Monday and Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said Tuesday that air defenses blocked a drone attack on the country’s Shaybah oil field. Two people were killed and two were injured by falling debris, according to the agency, which did not specify who launched the drone.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have sought to expand their territorial control in Yemen. The group has controlled a large swath of the country for more than a decade, including the capital of Sanaa.

Some Saudi officials have blamed Iran for the conduct of the Houthis, which are aligned with the Islamic Republic. Iran has denied any role in the escalation.

The conflict could cause problems beyond Saudi Arabia due to the Houthis’ proximity to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime chokepoint that a large share of the world’s oil flows through. The strait has become more important in recent months due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz wrought by the U.S.-Iran war.

Ambassador Marwan Ali Noman, political adviser to the Foreign Minister of Yemen, warned in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday that the Houthis could continue their attacks unless confronted.

“We are fighting on behalf of everyone, because the threat and risk of the Houthis will expand,” Noman said, adding that the Yemeni government is seeking international assistance.

The United Kingdom has offered support to Saudi Arabia, including defensive air operations. 

It’s not clear whether the Trump administration is also planning to assist Saudi Arabia. President Trump did not rule out strikes on the Houthis after the group’s deadly Oct. 10 attack on the Riyadh airport, telling reporters: “We may.”

Mr. Trump said earlier this month: “We have communication with the Houthis, and we’ll see what happens. But what they did was very bad.”