US orders departure of diplomats from Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL/DUBAI, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and family members ​to depart from its missions in Saudi Arabia ‌and is planning to move out family members from a number of other US missions in the Gulf, US officials told Reuters. State ​Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a post ​on X that the department ordered the departure ⁠of "non-emergency US government employees and their family members in ​Saudi Arabia only" amid attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis in ​Yemen on civilian targets in the country. Washington had returned some diplomatic personnel to the region in recent months after many were pulled ​out when Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on US facilities ​after the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. "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. Four US officials told ​Reuters that ​US missions ⁠in other Gulf states would also be ordering family members to leave. Pigott did not ​address changes to other missions outside Saudi ​Arabia. The ⁠US embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert on Wednesday about possible further attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia, ⁠after ​recent deadly strikes including on Riyadh's airport.