(TNND) — Americans are being urged to evacuate more than a dozen countries in the Middle East immediately as the conflict with Iran escalates and begins to spread into other parts of the region.
Mora Namdar, the assistant secretary of State for consular affairs, said in a social media post on Monday that Americans need to “DEPART NOW” using available commercial transportation “due to serious safety risks.” She added that those who need assistance can contact the State Department.
The countries Americans are asked to leave are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza are also included.
Iran has responded to the U.S.-Israeli military campaign targeting Iran’s leadership and missile infrastructure by lashing out against its neighbors and launching strikes toward multiple countries across the region as it tries to make good on threats to provoke a broader war if it was attacked.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched their assault on Saturday, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Gulf countries that host U.S. bases, with strikes also hitting ports, hotels and apartment buildings.
The attacks on surrounding countries appeared to escalate further on Monday when Qatar’s foreign ministry said it had shot down two Iranian bomber jets. The statement was the first report of Iranian warplanes being sent to attack its neighbors.
Multiple drones hit the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, causing a fire and minor building damage.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the “unjustified attack,” warning that it “will push the region into further escalation.”
President Donald Trump has yet to provide a clear idea of how long the military operation against Iran will last.
In his first public remarks on Monday, Trump said U.S. forces were ahead of schedule in meeting operational goals. Military planners had initially projected the campaign would last four to five weeks.
He later wrote on social media that the U.S. had a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and pre-positioned “high grade weaponry.” “Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies,” he added.
The Iranian Red Crescent reported on Tuesday that airstrikes by the United States and Israel have killed at least 787 people since the initial attack on Saturday.
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