The United States Department of State has ordered the departure of non-essential personnel and their families from several US embassies across West Asia, including Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan, amid the escalating US-Israeli military campaign against Iran
| Photo Credit:
MOHAMMED SALEM
Tuesday said it was pulling out non-essential personnel from
several U.S. missions across the West Asia and advised
American citizens to immediately leave the region even as air
travel remains severely disrupted due to U.S.-Israeli military
operation on Iran.
The State Department announced that it had ordered the
departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their
family members from U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Qatar, the United
Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan. Similar measures have already
been taken for U.S. missions in Lebanon and Israel.
It has also on Monday urged American citizens across 16
countries in the West Asia to leave now using “available
commercial transportation”. The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem said
it was unable to offer assistance to Americans trying to leave.
“You told Americans to depart now via commercial means when
you know many airports/airspace are closed,” Congressman Ted
Lieu wrote in an X post and said Washington must immediately
schedule U.S. government evacuation flights for the stranded
Americans.
“Maybe you should have thought of a frickin’ plan first,”
Lieu wrote.
U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran, which started on Saturday,
has already sent shockwaves around the world, disrupting energy
supplies and sending global air transport into chaos. Overnight,
Iranian drones struck the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia.
As Washington presses ahead with one of the most
consequential military actions in recent history, the United
States lacks Senate-confirmed ambassadors across many countries
in the region including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt,
Kuwait, Algeria and the UAE.
Major Gulf aviation hubs, including the world’s busiest
international airport, Dubai – which normally handles over 1,000
flights a day – remained closed for a fourth day on Tuesday,
leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded. Ticket prices
have soared.
“The U.S. Embassy is not in a position at this time to
evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel,”
the embassy said in an X post and said citizens can sign up to
the shuttles being operated by Israeli Ministry of Tourism to
the Taba border crossing with Egypt.
It reiterated that Washington cannot ensure the safety of
this route.
“The U.S. Embassy cannot make any recommendation (for or
against) the Ministry of Tourism’s shuttle. If you choose to
avail yourself of this option to depart, the U.S. government
cannot guarantee your safety,” it said.
The State Department did not immediately respond to
questions on how exactly Americans should be departing in the
absence of available commercial flights.
On Monday, a U.S. official said the department activated an
inter-agency task force to manage the situation and had launched
a dedicated WhatsApp channel, which it said has amassed 15,000
followers. It did not mention any government assistance for
evacuation of citizens.
Crude oil benchmarks rose about 7% on Tuesday, soaring for
a third session as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran widened.
In a social media post overnight, Trump said there was a
“virtually unlimited supply” of U.S. munitions and that “wars
can be fought “forever,” and very successfully, using just these
supplies.”
Published on March 3, 2026