WASHINGTON — Three U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday that the State Department is getting ready to order some embassy staff, and their families, out of the Gulf. Houthi attacks have shut Riyadh’s main airport, and it remains closed.
Why the hurry? Two officials pointed to the risk of fighting starting up again, above all with Yemen’s Houthis, an Iran-aligned group. The departures could go furthest in Saudi Arabia itself: two officials said the order might end up covering every staffer at the U.S. Mission there, families included.
AFP reported more. A diplomatic source told the agency the Riyadh embassy had told all American staff, and their families, to leave Saudi Arabia. Families at the missions in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain had been told to go too, the source said. No public confirmation of an ordered departure had come from the State Department by the time Reuters reported the preparations.
What Washington has put on the record is a security alert, dated Oct. 21, from the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia. It covers the whole country.
In the alert, the mission said Iranian-supported Houthis had carried out attacks against Saudi Arabia, hitting civilian airports and other critical infrastructure. People had been killed, it said, and travel had been badly disrupted. The fighting could spread quickly, the mission warned.
Flying out is not straightforward. Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remain suspended, the mission said. In Jeddah, King Abdulaziz International Airport is open, and so is King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, though both are running with delays and cancellations.
American government workers in the kingdom now need special permission from the chief of mission before they use any Saudi airport at all, following the recent missile and drone attacks on airports there. The mission told other Americans to take extreme caution if they chose to fly, and to check their flight with the airline and the airport before setting out.
Roads offer a way around the closures. Every land border crossing is still open, including the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain, and highways in and around Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran are operating, according to the alert. Trains and buses may also work where flights do not.
Some travel is barred outright for U.S. government staff. They cannot go within 20 miles of the Yemen border, and they need special authorization for the provinces of Jizan, Asir and Najran and for Qatif, Yanbu and Taif.
Consular work goes on. Regular and emergency services for Americans remain available, the mission said.
The alert told Americans in the kingdom to follow Saudi Civil Defense alerts sent by cellular broadcast, to stay away from windows, glass doors and fallen debris if an aerial attack happened, and to keep a charged phone carrying the embassy’s emergency numbers. It also advised enrolling in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, avoiding demonstrations and places with a heavy police presence, and taking extra care at places publicly linked to the United States.
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