US orders embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia as deadly Houthi strikes take a turn for worse

• Drone debris near KSA’s Shaybah oilfield killed two, injured 2.
• Saudi energy ministry did not identify who launched the drone.
• Explosions reported in Iran’s Hormozgan province, near Hormuz.
  

Washington has ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, the State Department said on Wednesday, as the kingdom faces sustained deadly attacks by Yemen's Houthis.

The move came after a diplomatic source told AFP that "all American staff and their families have been ordered to depart from the US embassy" in the Gulf kingdom.

The source added that families of embassy staff had also been ordered to leave the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, all of which have been targeted by Iran during the Middle East war.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott subsequently confirmed the order in a post on X, but said it applied to "non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only".

He linked the move to Houthi attacks on the country, including attacks on airports, saying that "the safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority".

Saudi Arabia has come under near-daily attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis this month, including a strike on Riyadh's international airport that was the kingdom's deadliest in years, as the conflict with the group escalates.

On Wednesday, the Saudi energy ministry said falling debris from the interception of a drone targeting an oil facility had killed two people and injured two others.

"The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others," the ministry said in a statement.

It did not identify who launched the drone targeting the Shaybah oilfield near the border with the United Arab Emirates. Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen reported intercepting six drones.

In June, a four-year truce in Yemen's civil war collapsed, reviving a conflict that dates back to 2014. The Saudi-led coalition has backed the internationally recognised government since 2015.

Iran explosions

The US had previously ordered non-essential staff to leave the Gulf ahead of the start of its war against Iran, and again in July before US President Donald Trump called off a new wave of strikes.

Late on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported several explosions in the southern province of Hormozgan, overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, breaking a period of relative calm.

"A few minutes ago, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, in Hormozgan Province," the official IRNA news agency said.

It added that "local sources have not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions".

The conflict began in late February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing the country's supreme leader and senior military commanders.

Iran has attempted to blockade the strategic waterway, demanding that all ships obtain its authorisation to pass through. In peacetime, the Strait of Hormuz carries around a fifth of the world's oil supplies.

In retaliation, the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports and ships.