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In internal and public notices, the US State Department over the weekend significantly ramped up its cautionary advice to Americans in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump addressing the country after strikes on Iran. (Reuters)
The US State Department has increased emergency evacuation flights for American citizens seeking to leave Israel, directed nonessential staff to depart the US Embassy in Lebanon, and heightened travel advisories across the Middle East due to fears of potential Iranian retaliation against US interests in the region.
In internal and public notices, the department over the weekend significantly ramped up its cautionary advice to Americans in the Middle East.
In a notice on Sunday, after American strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the department said it had ordered nonessential personnel and the families of staff at the US Embassy in Beirut to leave Lebanon “due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region.”
The notice made no mention of any potential evacuation flights or other assistance for private Americans wanting to leave Lebanon but said those who want to should try to use existing commercial services to depart.
At the same time, the department issued warnings to US citizens in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to take extra security precautions given the uncertainty.
“Given reports of regional hostilities, the US Mission to Saudi Arabia has advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region,” the department said in its notice for Saudi Arabia.
In Turkey, the department said US personnel “have been cautioned to maintain a low profile and instructed to avoid personal travel to the US Consulate Adana consular district,” which includes the NATO airbase at Incirlik.
“Negative sentiment toward US foreign policy may prompt actions against US or Western interests in Turkey,” the statement said.
Late Saturday, the department said it was stepping up evacuation flights for American citizens from Israel to Europe and continuing to draw down its staff at diplomatic missions in Iraq.
But even before the US airstrikes on Iran were made public by President Donald Trump on Saturday evening in Washington, the US Embassy in Jerusalem had announced the start of evacuation flights for private Americans from Israel.
After the US strikes in Iran, security officers at all US embassies and consulates have been instructed to conduct reviews of their posts’ security posture and report back to the State Department by late Sunday.
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