One Killed and Eight Injured in Dammam Airport Attack: US Orders Diplomats and Families to Leave Saudi Arabia
After an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, killed at least one person and injured eight, the US State Department has ordered some diplomats and their family members to leave the US mission in Saudi Arabia. Amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, the decision signals a deep deterioration in the regional security situation.
US officials told the Reuters news agency about the move. Not only Saudi Arabia — Washington is also planning to withdraw family members from several other US missions in the Middle East. Four US officials told Reuters that US missions in other Persian Gulf countries will also order family members to return.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a post on X that, in the face of attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, the department had ordered the departure only of 'non-emergency US government employees and their family members stationed in Saudi Arabia.' Pigott did not, however, comment on changes at other missions outside Saudi Arabia.
Two recent deadly attacks directly prompted the order. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said one person was killed and eight injured in the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Earlier in the day, two people were killed after Saudi air defences destroyed a drone attempting to attack a facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field, according to the country's energy ministry.
Pigott said, 'The Iran-backed Houthis are increasingly escalating the conflict against Saudi Arabia. This includes attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure, causing civilian casualties and severe travel disruption.' His remarks make clear that the attack on a civilian airport has raised Washington's concern the most.
The latest evacuation decision came after fighting intensified in Yemen, opening another new front in the regional conflict created by the US-Israel war. The wider conflict is disrupting global energy trade and damaging Gulf economies.
The background is also important. After the Iran-Israel war began in late February, Tehran attacked the United States and Israel. Many diplomats were evacuated at that time, although in recent months Washington had brought some diplomatic staff back to the region. This order reverses that return process once again.
The pattern of recent attacks is also alarming. After several deadly attacks, including on Riyadh's airport, the US Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert on Wednesday warning of possible further Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia. In early March, when Iran began attacking across the region, the US Embassy in Riyadh and the CIA station there were hit by drone strikes.
Dammam is an important city in eastern Saudi Arabia, and King Fahd International Airport is one of the country's main airports. An attack and loss of life at such a facility used by civilian passengers has also raised new questions about international aviation and the safety of the large number of expatriate workers in the Gulf region.
Decisions to withdraw diplomats and their families are usually taken when the security risk in a host country is judged to have risen significantly. Preparations for similar steps at other Gulf missions alongside Saudi Arabia suggest Washington sees the risk rising across the whole region.
Attention will now turn to the Houthis' next move and Saudi Arabia's response. If attacks increase further, the impact could spread beyond diplomatic presence to energy supplies, aviation and Gulf economies.
