US embassies urge Americans to consider leaving Middle East

US embassies across the Middle East issued urgent warnings Saturday, advising American citizens to consider departing the region due to an "unforeseen escalation" in the ongoing conflict. The alerts, posted online by embassies in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, came a day after President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran "very hard."

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Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation.

The conflict between Iran and the United States, which has been ongoing since February 28, has disrupted lives across the Middle East and rattled global energy markets. The security messages urged citizens to check flight details and heed local authorities' safety advice, warning of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.

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Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions.

Specific advisories included a warning for Americans in Jordan to avoid US military bases, which have recently faced Iranian missile attacks. In Israel, citizens were urged to locate the nearest bomb shelter. The US Embassy in Jerusalem noted the Iranian regime's unpredictable actions, including unprovoked attacks on regional areas and expansion to previously untargeted locations like Egypt. The embassy in Beirut stated the mission remained on "ordered departure status," with non-emergency personnel relocated outside Lebanon.

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The Iranian regime is unpredictable, as seen by its recent decisions to attack areas in the region without warning or provocations as well as to expand attacks to areas not previously targeted (such as Egypt).

Iran's military accused Washington of escalating tensions, with Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran's military central command, stating that any country acting as a "defensive shield" for the US would be engulfed in war. Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, also warned against attacks on Iranian infrastructure, suggesting such actions would awaken historical fault lines.

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Any country serving as defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war.