Americans seeking to flee Middle Eastern countries face shrinking exit options as airlines cancel flights and the State Department issues urgent departure orders for more than a dozen nations caught in escalating violence that has killed hundreds since Saturday.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on X that US citizens in Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel should “DEPART NOW” using whatever commercial transportation remains available. The guidance reflects deepening concern in Washington that the conflict, which began with joint US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is spiraling beyond control.
Iran’s Red Crescent Society said at least 555 people have died in American and Israeli attacks that have hit more than 130 cities across the country. Eleven people were killed in Israel and 31 in Lebanon, according to local authorities. The US military announced Monday that two previously unaccounted-for service members had been confirmed dead, bringing total American casualties to six.
Major carriers have suspended service to the region as fighting spreads, leaving stranded travelers with few ways out. The travel disruption compounds the challenge for Americans who heeded earlier warnings to avoid the area but now find themselves trapped as airports close and airspace restrictions expand.
Washington and Tel Aviv have offered conflicting descriptions of their objectives and provided no clear timeline for ending operations. The lack of an apparent exit strategy has fueled fears the confrontation could drag on for weeks or months, further destabilizing a region already strained by years of proxy conflicts and sectarian tensions.
US and Israeli forces have continued pounding Iranian targets since Saturday’s initial strikes. Tehran and its allies have retaliated against Israel, Gulf states hosting American military installations, and infrastructure critical to global oil and natural gas production.
The State Department’s evacuation call covers countries where American diplomatic presence ranges from full embassies to skeletal staffing or shuttered missions. Some nations on the list, including Iran, have no US embassy and offer Americans no consular support if they require emergency assistance or documentation to leave.
Jordan and Lebanon, both of which border Israel and host large refugee populations from previous Middle Eastern wars, now face the possibility of new displacement as violence spreads. Jordanian officials have closed some border crossings and restricted movement near frontier areas.
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Iraq, where the US maintains a military presence at several bases, has seen Iranian-aligned militia groups mobilize in response to the strikes. American personnel at those installations remain on heightened alert, though the Pentagon has not announced plans to evacuate non-essential staff.
Lebanon’s situation is complicated by the presence of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia that controls parts of the country and has clashed with Israeli forces in recent days. The group’s leadership has vowed retaliation for Khamenei’s killing, raising the prospect of sustained rocket attacks on northern Israel and possible Israeli ground incursions into Lebanese territory.
Israel has activated reserve units and positioned troops along multiple borders while continuing air operations over Iran. The intensity of the campaign suggests a sustained effort rather than the limited strikes that characterized previous rounds of Israeli-Iranian confrontation.
Tehran’s retaliatory attacks have targeted military installations in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states, forcing those governments to navigate between their security partnerships with Washington and their desire to avoid becoming permanent battlegrounds. Gulf officials have urged both sides to de-escalate but have stopped short of condemning either party.
The targeting of energy infrastructure has raised concerns about supply disruptions that could affect global markets. While no major facilities have been knocked offline for extended periods, the risk of damage to critical nodes in the production and transport network has sent oil prices climbing.
The conflicting explanations from US and Israeli officials about what they hope to achieve have left allies uncertain about how to position themselves. Some European governments have called for restraint while others have expressed support for the operation, creating divisions within alliances that typically present unified positions on Middle East policy.
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The absence of clear war aims has also complicated efforts to identify potential diplomatic offramps. Mediation attempts by Oman, Qatar and other intermediaries have gained little traction as both sides continue military operations and harden their public rhetoric.
Namdar’s guidance did not specify how Americans should leave countries where commercial flights have been canceled or where overland routes pass through active conflict zones. The State Department has previously arranged charter evacuations during crises but has not announced plans to do so in this case.
Some Americans in the region have reported difficulty reaching US diplomatic facilities for guidance or assistance. Phone lines at embassies in several countries have been overwhelmed, and online appointment systems have crashed under the volume of requests.
The scale of the evacuation call—covering more than a dozen countries simultaneously—is unusual even by the standards of the volatile Middle East. Previous departure orders have typically focused on single nations or smaller clusters of countries facing specific threats.