By Basant El-Faramawy
The US has ordered all non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks from escalating Houthi attacks. The order was issued on October 23 following strikes targeting civilian airports, hospitals, and critical infrastructure, the US embassy in Riyadh announced Friday.
The move comes after at least 13 people were killed and hundreds injured in a Houthi strike on Riyadh's international airport on October 10, the deadliest attack in the kingdom in over a decade. The Houthis, a Yemen-based armed group aligned with Iran, have vowed to continue targeting the airport, which they consider a military target.
Although the airport reopened on Sunday, it intercepted another barrage of drones and missiles the same day. US government employees now require special authorization to use Saudi airports, and the embassy warned of potential further attacks, airspace closures, and flight cancellations.
The fighting between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's government has intensified in recent weeks, opening a volatile new front in the broader US-Israeli confrontation with Iran. Recent strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure and municipal facilities have forced temporary airport closures and heightened regional security alerts.
The Houthi offensive includes the seizure of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, aiming to secure control over the Red Sea. Analysts say the goal is to control the Red Sea while Iran maintains its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, potentially raising oil prices and complicating US efforts to resolve the crisis.
President Donald Trump has so far avoided committing to military strikes against the Houthis to aid Saudi Arabia, though experts suggest US intervention may be necessary to break the Houthi grip on the Red Sea.
