{"id":894269,"date":"2026-03-25T04:26:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T09:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/25\/state-department-urges-americans-across-mideast-to-depart-as-strikes-continue\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T04:26:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T09:26:21","slug":"state-department-urges-americans-across-mideast-to-depart-as-strikes-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/25\/state-department-urges-americans-across-mideast-to-depart-as-strikes-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department urges Americans across Mideast to depart as strikes continue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The State Department on Tuesday ordered the mandatory departure of nonemergency personnel and family members in six countries in the Middle East over growing security concerns after two Iranian drones struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Officials also urge Americans across the region <\/a>to depart as soon as possible, though many airports are shuttered and other transportation options are limited. If they can’t leave, they should shelter in place until further notice as Iran retaliates across the region in response to the U.S.-Israel attack. <\/p>\n

The State Department created a task force to help U.S. citizens after the weekend strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran and Iran\u2019s retaliatory efforts. <\/a>But as a growing number of U.S. embassies and consulates suspend routine and emergency services, Americans still in the region have been left with limited options. <\/p>\n

Airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Doha, Qatar \u2014 including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world \u2014 are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes, according to The Associated Press.<\/a><\/p>\n

Oliver Sims, 24, a content creator from Dallas, got stuck in Doha on his way back from a friend\u2019s wedding in India. He contacted the U.S. Embassy there but said it couldn\u2019t offer him any immediate assistance. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey had so many emergency calls coming in, so they had to hang up on me,\u201d he told NBC News. <\/p>\n

Sims got in touch with his senator, John Cornyn, whose office reassured him it was aware of his location. \u201cThey said they\u2019ll let me know of any plans to extract U.S. citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sims said he feels relatively safe and has been able to work remotely from his hotel room in Doha, but his parents are worried. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents are constantly calling\u201d he said, asking whether he\u2019s OK and whether there\u2019s any other way he can get out of the country. For now, Sims is staying calm, but he hopes to get back to Dallas in time to celebrate his 25th birthday Saturday.<\/p>\n

In a video on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> outlined how Americans can get in touch with State Department officials. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur No. 1 priority is the safety and the security of American citizens everywhere in the world,\u201d Rubio said. <\/p>\n

But a recording on the phone number Rubio recited to help Americans says: “Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time. There are currently no United States evacuation points.” <\/p>\n

Later Tuesday, State Department officials said they were working on charters and military aircraft for Americans who wish to leave and had been in touch with nearly 3,000 Americans abroad. <\/p>\n

The U.S. embassies in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE were operating with limited staffs. <\/p>\n

The embassy in Saudi Arabia was closed after the drone strike, which did limited damage and caused no injuries. In Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and UAE, the U.S. embassies are also warning of potential drone or missile strikes from Iran.<\/p>\n

In Kuwait, the embassy was closed and Americans have been told to stay indoors. In Jordan, diplomatic staff members were temporarily evacuated Monday over a threat. <\/p>\n

The State Department issued a \u201cworldwide caution\u201d alert for all Americans overseas Saturday, the first since June 22, after the U.S. intervened in the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran. The State Department doesn\u2019t reveal its diplomatic footprint, so it\u2019s unclear how many Americans are stationed in the Middle East. <\/p>\n

On Monday, State Department officials urged Americans to depart from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen. <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump has suggested<\/a> the war could last a month or longer. U.S. and Israel have struck multiple targets, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several lieutenants were killed in the attacks.<\/a><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Red Crescent said nearly 800 people were killed in Israeli and American strikes. Six U.S. service members died in action, and 11 people were killed in Israel as Iran fired back.<\/p>\n

In Bahrain, after a strike on the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the capital city, Manama, Americans were warned to avoid all hotels as they may be targets for attacks. The U.S. Embassy remained closed, and all regular and emergency consular appointments were canceled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Abigail Williams, Julie Cerullo
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The State Department on Tuesday ordered the mandatory departure of nonemergency personnel and family members in six countries in the Middle East over growing security concerns after two Iranian drones struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Officials also urge Americans across the region to depart as soon as possible, though many airports are shuttered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[226,2215],"tags":[5786,6437],"class_list":{"0":"post-894269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-department","8":"category-state","9":"tag-department","10":"tag-state"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}