US State Department authorises staff to leave several Middle Eastern countries

The US State Department has authorized non-emergency employees and their families in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Cyprus to leave those countries, in the latest diplomatic departures as Iran continues attacking US government and military facilities across the Middle East, CNN reports.

In the State Department’s notice for employees in Saudi Arabia, it cited “an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran,” after the US embassy in Riyadh was struck by drones. It added that the US government has “limited ability” to help American citizens in the country.

Its notices for Cyprus and Oman both cited “safety risks.”

On March 2, a drone targeted RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a key hub for UK air operations in the Middle East, believed to be the first attack on the British base since 1986.

Oman, long a mediator between Washington and Tehran, has largely been spared attacks in the current conflict – but its commercial port at Duqm on the eastern coast has been hit by Iranian drones more than once.