US issues fresh warning as Houthi attacks disrupt Saudi airports

The State Department has instructed certain diplomats and the families of U.S. government employees to vacate Saudi Arabia in response to a series of deadly assaults by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels and mounting concerns of a surge in hostilities. The department announced on Wednesday that non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and its overseas consulates would be leaving the country.

The embassy, which had been severely damaged at the outset of the Iran war and was operating with a reduced staff for several months, had recently seen a return of certain diplomats. In an updated travel advisory, the department stated, "Iranian-supported Houthis have been involved in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other vital infrastructure leading to civilian casualties and significant travel disruptions.

These hostilities have the potential to intensify rapidly beyond that specific region." Previous alerts issued for Saudi Arabia over the past few days have contained nearly identical wording and highlighted the requirement for U.S. government personnel to obtain special authorization to utilize Saudi airports. The Houthis have consistently targeted Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, which had been closed since October 10 following a major assault.

However, earlier on Wednesday, aircraft from a limited number of Saudi airlines managed to take off and land at the airport, two days after Saudi aviation authorities granted permission for resumed operations. Despite this, major airlines like Lufthansa and Air France have suspended flights to Riyadh until mid-November. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the airport attack, though they have offered no evidence to back their assertion that Saudi Arabia supplied military equipment to government forces via the facility.

While the order to leave pertains solely to Saudi Arabia, U.S. embassies in other Gulf nations will undergo temporary staffing adjustments, according to the department. These embassies are already under "restricted operations," restricting the number of personnel working there. In the meantime, tensions escalated as Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry reported that debris from an intercepted drone caused the deaths of two individuals and injuries to two more at an Aramco-operated oil facility in the country's southeast.

The Saudi-led coalition combating the Houthis also disclosed that the group had launched five drones towards Saudi Arabia early on Wednesday. The coalition stated that the drones were detected and destroyed over the sacred city of Madinah and the Eastern Region. This was the latest attempted attack on Saudi Arabia since the renewal of fighting with the Houthis in mid-July.