US Prepares Gulf Embassy Staff Departures Amid Houthi Threat

Washington is preparing to order some diplomatic personnel and their family members to leave US embassies across the Gulf as concerns grow over a possible resumption of fighting in the Middle East, particularly involving Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Three US officials told Reuters on Wednesday that the State Department was preparing the mandatory security measure, although no departure order had yet been confirmed as issued. The measure, known as an ordered departure, requires designated diplomatic personnel and eligible family members to leave their posts.

Essential embassy operations generally continue during such departures, unlike voluntary arrangements that allow personnel to decide whether to leave. Two of the US officials told Reuters that preparations stemmed from fears that hostilities could resume or intensify, particularly as Houthi missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia have increased in recent weeks. Reuters did not identify the embassies affected, the number of people potentially required to leave, or when the order might take effect.

The preparations follow a coordinated wave of security alerts issued by US diplomatic missions across the Middle East on Sunday. According to ABC News, embassies in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries warned American citizens to remain vigilant amid concerns that fighting involving the Houthis could spread rapidly and disrupt air travel and other services.

US officials told ABC News earlier this week that the Trump administration increasingly considers Houthi attacks a broader threat to Americans across the region, rather than a danger limited to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The warnings came after attacks on Saudi airports and energy infrastructure, including an October 10 strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that killed 13 people, including an American citizen, and injured hundreds. The attack forced the airport to suspend operations.

The airport resumed limited domestic flights on Wednesday, but international services remained severely disrupted. Saudi-led coalition forces also reported intercepting five Houthi drones targeting Medina that day. Saudi Arabia has sought additional military assistance from regional and Western partners as violence escalates. Britain announced on Tuesday that Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets would conduct defensive missions over Saudi Arabia to protect cities and critical infrastructure from Houthi missiles and drones.

The British deployment also includes an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers. London said the fighter jets would operate defensively and would not conduct offensive strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The Houthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the country's north.

The group has been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed Yemeni forces since July, using missiles and drones against targets in Saudi Arabia while continuing attacks against government-aligned forces inside Yemen. The latest preparations come weeks after American diplomats and their families began returning to some Middle Eastern postings following earlier departures linked to the war with Iran. The United States withdrew personnel from several embassies after US and Israeli strikes against Iran began on February 28, amid concerns about Iranian retaliation against American diplomatic and military facilities.

By late August, the State Department had begun easing some restrictions, allowing personnel to return to diplomatic missions in countries including Saudi Arabia. Family members were also permitted to return to several Gulf postings.

The potential new departure order would reverse some of that progress as Washington reassesses security risks to its diplomatic presence across the Gulf. The State Department had not publicly identified the affected missions or announced a timetable for any mandatory departures in the information provided to Reuters.