The United States has ordered non-essential embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia after a wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom's airports and energy infrastructure.
The State Department announced the order on Wednesday, 21 October. Its spokesman, Tommy Pigott, said the Iranian-backed Houthis had "increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia". A diplomatic source told AFP that some embassy families were also being withdrawn from the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
A string of strikes
On 21 October, an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two people and wounded eight, according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation, which said operations resumed the next day. The same day, Saudi air defences intercepted a drone aimed at Aramco's Shaybah oilfield near the UAE border; the energy ministry said two people were killed. Production at Shaybah was not affected, Bloomberg reported, citing the ministry.
Earlier this month, attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on 10 and 11 October killed 13 people. Aramco's Dhahran headquarters was struck on 13 October, and on 22 October the company told staff to leave the building and work remotely, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. There was no immediate sign of disruption to production or exports.
Wider risks
The Houthis said they had targeted airports, the Saudi defence ministry and Aramco facilities in Yanbu. Analysts also point to risks to the East-West pipeline, which allows Saudi Arabia to export crude without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks have contributed to the rise in oil prices this month.