The United States has ordered some diplomats and their families to leave Saudi Arabia because of the threat from Houthi militants, as the Iran-backed group carried out more strikes from Yemen. The move comes amid escalating tensions across the Middle East, with the U.S. and Israel drawing up plans for renewed strikes on Iran, according to the New York Times.
NBC News reported that the pullout of American personnel went beyond Saudi Arabia, with some military employees set to be removed from bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. A U.S. Central Command spokesperson said, “We regularly move U.S. service members and assets to optimize mission readiness,” and added, “We do not discuss related movements for operational security reasons.”
The State Department ordered staff reductions at the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia, citing Houthi attacks on the kingdom including strikes on civilian airports. Chiefs of mission at several other posts across the region have been told to operate with fewer personnel, in moves sources compared directly with drawdowns at the start of the war in February.
Recent Attacks
A drone attack on Aramco’s Shaybah oil field killed two people from Nepal and the Philippines early Wednesday, the Saudi Energy Ministry said. The projectile was intercepted, the ministry added, but the people were killed by falling debris. Operations at the field, which has the capacity to produce 1 million barrels of crude a day, were unaffected.
Two people were killed and several others were injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in the eastern Saudi city of Dammam later in the day, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been hit repeatedly this month. The deadliest strike, on Oct. 10, wounded more than 300 people. Saudi civil aviation authorities put the death toll at 12, though CNN has since reported 13 killed, making it the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
UK Deploys Typhoons
Britain will send Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones aimed at Saudi cities and critical infrastructure, the UK Defense Ministry said on Oct. 20. The jets will fly defensive counter-air missions and will not carry out strikes inside Yemen, according to a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office.
The government has not said how many Typhoons are going, where they will be based or when patrols will begin. The jets join UK support already in place, including air defense equipment, British personnel, and a Royal Air Force Voyager tanker that has been refueling Saudi fighters since September. The Associated Press reported that Britain is also extending its Voyager refueling mission by 90 days.
“The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable. The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation in the region,” said UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting.
Iran Tensions
President Donald Trump said on Oct. 21 that the U.S. is not negotiating with Iran and that “something” will happen “fairly soon.” The remarks mark a turn from Trump’s pledge on Oct. 8 that the United States would not attack Iran before the midterms. Options presented to Trump include strikes on tunnel entrances at nuclear sites and on the strategic islands of Kharg and Qeshm, NBC News reported, while officials quoted by the Times said there is a chance he could order strikes before the end of this month.
Israel has sent dozens of fighter jets and refueling aircraft along a route through Syrian and Iraqi airspace consistent with a strike on Iran, turning them back only as they approached the Iranian border, Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported. On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck four “violating” tankers that were transferring oil in the northern Persian Gulf, Press TV reported. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker was struck by a projectile southeast of Al Faw, Iraq, on Tuesday.
Brent crude was up 2.7% on Thursday to more than $111 a barrel, its highest level in five months. Brent oil prices are more than 80% higher this year.
Sources: Defence Blog · DVIDS News