Major hostilities brewing? US orders departure of some embassy staff, families from Gulf region

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The Big Story

Major hostilities brewing? US orders departure of some embassy staff, families from Gulf region

The State Department ordered the departure of nonemergency U.S. government employees and their family members from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the Iranian-backed Houthis have continued to attack the country.

© AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File

“As the Department has repeatedly emphasized, the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly, including beyond that immediate area,” a State Department spokesperson told The Hill.

“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them as they return to the U.S.,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

But that’s potentially not all.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the U.S. government is preparing to issue an ordered departure of some personnel and family members from U.S. embassies across the Gulf.

And The Agence France-Presse later reported that the U.S. ordered families of embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain to leave, citing a diplomatic source.

Asked about the reports, Trump feigned ignorance, telling journalist: “I don’t know that they are. You are telling me something — I wouldn’t know that.”

The new order comes as the Houthis are engaged in a war against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and have been attacking infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports and other critical sites that have led to civilian casualties.

Saudi Arabia’s air defense intercepted a drone targeting Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield on Wednesday, but two people were killed and another two were injured from the falling debris, the nation’s energy ministry said.

Read the full report at thehill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

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