The United States is in a hurry to transfer several diplomats and their families from several countries in the Middle East amid fears of regional escalation.

The United States is in a hurry to transfer several diplomats and their families from several countries in the Middle East amid fears of regional escalation.

The State Department this week ordered non-emergency personnel and all family members to leave Saudi Arabia following the increased Houthi attacks on the kingdom, while quietly reducing the staff working at embassies in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon without public announcements.

Many of those leaving only recently returned after being ordered out at the height of the Iran war, with one diplomat saying "to say it was chaotic is an understatement" and a source in Amman describing "a very Groundhog Day atmosphere".

Source: CNN