The United States Department of State is arranging charter and military flights to evacuate American citizens from parts of the Middle East as tensions between the US, Israel and Iran intensify.
On Monday, the department advised Americans to “depart now” from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen due to “serious safety risks”.
However, evacuation efforts have been complicated by widespread flight cancellations and airspace disruptions since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend. Tehran retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting US-allied nations in the region.
The State Department said it is working to secure both military aircraft and charter flights for Americans seeking to leave.
“We’ve been in direct contact with nearly 3,000 Americans abroad,” State Department official Dylan Johnson said on X, encouraging citizens to use the department’s emergency hotline for assistance.
In a separate update, the department said 9,000 US citizens have already returned home from the region. It added that support is being provided to help travellers secure seats on commercial flights where available.
Despite these efforts, some Americans report difficulties. Florida resident Krista Jucknath Hickman said her anniversary trip turned into “chaos” after evacuation guidance was issued. She and her husband were stranded overnight at Dubai airport and are now travelling by road from the UAE to Oman.
“The orders are not realistic, not supportive,” she said. “The number provided by the State Department for support is unable to help. I called twice. Both times I was told there are no evacuation procedures in place.”
Other travellers told the BBC they were either sheltering in place or searching for alternative routes out of affected countries.
An estimated 500,000 to one million US nationals live across the Middle East, though exact figures are unclear because Americans are not required to register with authorities when residing abroad.
The Embassy of the United States, Jerusalem stated on Monday that it “is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel”, adding that it would close on Tuesday. It later confirmed that Israel had “begun operating shuttles to the Taba Border Crossing [with Egypt]” but noted the embassy “cannot make any recommendation (for or against)” using the route.
France also announced contingency plans. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris was prepared to repatriate its most vulnerable citizens using commercial and military flights. Around 400,000 French nationals are believed to be in the region.
In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged British citizens in the Middle East to formally register their presence to receive “the best possible support”.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that roughly 300,000 British nationals are in the region, including holidaymakers, business travellers and transit passengers. So far, about 102,000 Britons have registered with the government’s support system.
UK officials noted that while registration schemes have been used during past crises, the scale and geographic spread of the current conflict are unprecedented.
As hostilities widen and regional security risks grow, governments continue scrambling to assist citizens seeking safe passage home.
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