WASHINGTON — The US State Department is urging Americans in more than a dozen Middle East countries to immediately depart as Israel and the United States continue to exchange strikes with Iran.
The department “urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks,” Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar wrote on X.
The advisory applies to US citizens in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Leaving those countries could prove challenging, however, as many of Iran’s neighbors have closed their airspace to commercial travel. Thousands of flights have been canceled across Middle Eastern airports in recent days, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Dubai International Airport announced Monday that limited flights would resume following a deadly Iranian strike on Saturday that hit the aviation hub.
“Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means, CALL US 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad) and +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. and Canada). ENROLL in http://step.state.gov to get the latest security updates from the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” Namdar wrote.
The announcement comes after the State Department issued a “worldwide caution” alert on Saturday, warning all Americans abroad to “exercise increased caution” following US military operations in Iran.
A US official said the department has established a 24/7 task force to provide consular assistance to Americans in the region “as expeditiously as possible.” It has also launched a dedicated WhatsApp channel that is delivering security updates to more than 15,000 subscribers, the official said.
On Monday, the US Embassy in Baghdad advised Americans in Iraq to shelter in place until further notice, and the US Embassy in Amman evacuated all personnel from the compound in the Jordan capital due to an unspecified threat.
