Trump orders diplomats to leave Middle East amid fears US could strike Houthis
Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia killed at least two people at an airport in Damman on Wednesday
The US military is pulling out diplomats and their families from across the Middle East, according to reports, prompting concern that Donald Trump could join attacks on the Houthis.
The State Department has ordered some diplomats and family members to depart from its missions in Saudi Arabia and is drawing up plans for further withdrawals from other embassies. Reports also said the Pentagon was pulling American troops from bases in the region.
It comes after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia killed at least two people and injured eight others at a civilian airport in Dammam and two people were killed in a drone attack on an oil field on Wednesday.
The military withdrawals also come as officials present Trump with options for striking Iran, NBC News reported. Troops stationed in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait have also been moved, a US official told the outlet.
US officials told NBC and CBS that Washington is quietly reducing the size of its Middle East forces due to the ongoing threats from the Houthis and Iran.
Washington had returned some diplomatic personnel to the region in recent months after many were pulled out when Tehran launched 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,” state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on X.
He added that he had 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.
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 one on Riyadh's airport that killed dozens.
The escalation of the fighting in Yemen has opened yet another front in the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran, that has inflicted heavy damage on the global energy trade.