U.S. Urges Citizens to Leave Middle East Amid Widening Conflict
The U.S. State Department has issued an urgent, sweeping advisory urging American citizens in more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries to 'DEPART NOW' using commercial transportation. The warning, posted by Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar, applies to nations including Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. This call for immediate departure comes as the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran widens, with retaliatory attacks drawing in Iranian proxies across the region. The advisory has triggered chaos for Americans traveling in the Middle East, with many describing the situation as 'mayhem' as they scramble to find a way home. The evacuation effort is complicated by a near-total breakdown in regional air travel; since Saturday, over 11,000 flights have been canceled, affecting more than a million passengers. Major airlines have ruled out resuming normal services before Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of foreigners, including many tourists, stranded. In response to the travel chaos, the U.S. government has begun organizing charter flights to evacuate its nationals from some locations, such as the UAE. The unusual nature of the advisory, communicated via social media, has led to some confusion. Analysts, like Culhane quoted by Al Jazeera, noted that such a significant policy shift is typically communicated through more formal, complex State Department processes, raising questions about the immediacy and clarity of the threat. The travel warning was swiftly followed by an order for the evacuation of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their families from diplomatic posts in Bahrain and Jordan, underscoring the seriousness of the perceived safety risks as President Donald Trump indicated the conflict could last for several weeks.
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Sources
State Department urges U.S. citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries | PBS News
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on the social media site X that Americans in countries including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel should “DEPART NOW” using any available commercial transportation.
Many Americans stranded in Middle East after US advisory to depart immediately | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
Americans across the Middle East are scrambling to leave the region after the US state department late on Monday urged US citizens in 14 countries there to depart immediately as the conflict with Iran widens.
US urges citizens to immediately leave over a dozen Middle East countries | Conflict News | Al Jazeera
The State Department has very complex processes to notify Americans in these places that they need to leave. That hasn’t happened. It’s not official government policy, at least it doesn’t appear to be yet, because this isn’t how they announce official government policy,” Culhane added. ... “It’s not quite clear what this means, and exactly how Americans could leave the entire Middle East ...
Americans urged to leave 14 Middle East countries amid Iran war "due to serious safety risks" - CBS News
She helps lead national and breaking news coverage and shapes editorial workflows. Read Full Bio ... The U.S. State Department is urging Americans to leave 14 countries across the Middle East as the Iran war widened Tuesday with Iranian proxies being drawn in and Iran continuing its retaliatory ...
Americans travelling in the Middle East say it has been "mayhem" trying to get back home as the US-Israel war with Iran is felt throughout the region. The US is advising its citizens in fourteen countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Qatar, to "depart now" as ...
Airlines in Middle East rule out services resuming before Thursday | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
Since Saturday, at least 11,000 ... the Middle East have been cancelled, affecting more than a million passengers, according to the aviation analytics company Cirium. The travel chaos is likely to continue, with the US president, Donald Trump, saying on Monday that the conflict had been projected to last four to five weeks, but could go on longer. Late on Monday the US state department called on Americans to immediately ...
US Urges Citizens to Leave Middle Eastern Countries Amid Escalating Conflict with Iran | Egyptian Streets
The warning, issued by the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar, comes amid ongoing US Israeli strikes against Iran and a widening cycle of retaliatory attacks across the region.
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