Middle East Conflict: US Orders Embassy Staff to Leave Saudi Arabia

War continues to rage across the Middle East. The United States government has ordered embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia as Iran retaliates against American and Israeli strikes.

According to AFP news agency on Monday (9 March 2026), the US State Department stated in a travel advisory that it had “ordered non-emergency US government employees and family members of US government employees to depart Saudi Arabia due to safety risks.”

The order reflects ongoing concern about Iranian attacks. President Donald Trump has warned that he is prepared for war for several more weeks, whilst Tehran has said it is ready to respond.

The United States had previously permitted non-essential staff to leave but did not require them to do so. The State Department said it continues to advise American citizens to “reconsider travel” to Saudi Arabia, though without issuing a blanket travel warning against all visits to the kingdom.

Iranian drones struck the US embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, last week. Iranian drone attacks have also caused damage to US embassies in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

On Sunday (8 March), Saudi Arabian authorities reported two people killed and 12 injured when a projectile struck Al Kharj province.

Iran has vowed to retaliate after the United States and Israel launched a major assault on 28 February that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Gulf kingdoms are closely allied with the United States, with both Bahrain and Qatar providing major military bases for US forces.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised to neighbouring countries for the attacks on Saturday. However, he then stated that Iran would be “forced to retaliate” if those countries were used to launch strikes against Iran.