US orders non-essential embassy staff out of Saudi Arabia after Gulf attacks
The US has ordered non-essential embassy staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia after a deadly airport attack and a drone strike on an oil field, with blasts also reported near the Strait of Hormuz.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Explosions were reported near the Strait of Hormuz and a drone attack hit an oil facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, as the United States moved to pull non-essential staff from its embassy in Saudi Arabia. Reports said the explosions were heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, according to Iran's state media and the AFP news agency. The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear.
Saudi authorities said air defences intercepted a drone in an attempted attack on an oil field in the country's east, close to the border with the United Arab Emirates. Two people were killed. One report named the site as the Sheba oil field and said two more people were injured by falling debris from the interception.
Separately, an attack on King Fahd Airport in Dammam, close to Bahrain, killed one person and injured eight. It was not yet clear who was responsible. Reports said Saudi Arabia has faced almost daily attacks from Iran-backed Houthi fighters who control much of neighbouring Yemen.
The US ordered non-essential staff at its embassy in Saudi Arabia and their families to leave. Reports also said American staff and their families were ordered to depart from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain. Some of the earlier reports were still being checked.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| An attack on King Fahd Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight, with no clear responsibility reported. | |
| Explosions were reported in the Strait of Hormuz in the Karpan area of Sirik, according to Iranian state media citing AFP. | |
| Saudi Arabia was facing near-daily attacks from Iran-backed Houthi fighters who control much of Yemen. | |
| Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry said debris from intercepted drones killed two people and injured two others at the Sheba oil field near the UAE border. | |
| US staff and their families were ordered to leave Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC NEWS - The Context led with urgent, still unconfirmed breaking lines from the Middle East. It stressed that the cause of the Hormuz explosions was unknown, gave casualty details from the Sheba oil field drone interception and reported wider US embassy departures across several Gulf states. It then moved to unrelated UK gas news, and did not carry the Dammam airport attack.
- “We don't know the nature of these explosions.”
- “the Saudi Energy Ministry has said that falling debris from the interception of a drone targeting an oil facility has killed two people and injured a further two at the Sheba oil field near the UAE border”
- “American staff and their families ordered to depart from Saudi, also from the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.”
BBC NEWS - BBC News gave a more consolidated account, leading with the US embassy departure order and linking the threat to almost daily attacks by Iran-backed Houthis. It added the King Fahd Airport attack in Dammam and repeated the earlier oil field drone interception. It did not mention the reported explosions near the Strait of Hormuz.
- “The United States has ordered non-essential staff in its embassy in Saudi Arabia and their families to leave.”
- “The country is coming under almost daily attacks from Iran-backed Houthi fighters who control much of neighbouring Yemen.”
- “Eight people were injured and one person killed in an attack on the King Fahd Airport in Dammam close to Bahrain.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.