US Embassy In Saudi Arabia Closes Due To Terror Concerns

Fearing the security of its personnel and assets in its embassy in Saudi Arabia has prompted the U.S. to close its facility there. Consular services in the kingdom will be suspended for two days on Sunday and Monday due to "heightened security concerns." It had received threat warnings against Western oil workers.

The U.S. embassy in Riyadh warned Americans to take extra precautions and as much as possible limit non-essential travel to the oil-rich kingdom. It noted it had learned of information in early March that "individuals associated with a terrorist organization could be targeting Western oil workers, possibly to include those U.S. citizens working for oil companies in the Eastern Province, for an attack(s) and/or kidnapping(s)." It clarified it had no information on the specifics of the alleged planned attacks.

Marie Harf, State Department spokeswoman, said the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran will likewise be closed on Sunday and Monday. Even the telephone lines of the consular offices won’t be open during those two days.

Saudi Arabia immediately restricted access to the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh, where the U.S. Embassy is located. The embassy advised “all U.S. citizens to be aware of their surroundings, and take extra precautions when traveling throughout the country.”

Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Middle East risk adviser Cornerstone Global Associates in Dubai, told Bloomberg the U.S. had responded to a “specific intelligence information, rather than a general increase of risk.” He believed the threats will escalate. “It is very likely that we will see more such threats in the coming months.”

A report by Fox News, citing an unidentified intelligence source, said the terror warning involved a car bomb threat. "It was serious enough that the facilities will have only essential staff over the next two days," report said.

In October, a U.S. citizen working for an American defense contractor was killed in Riyadh. The following month, a Danish citizen was shot and injured. A week after, a Canadian was stabbed and wounded while shopping at a mall on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast.

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