Multiple US embassies in the Middle East have told Americans they cannot facilitate evacuations, despite a State Department advisory for US citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the region, Business Insider reported on Tuesday.
“The US Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel,” the US Embassy in Jerusalem said in a post on X.
Israel’s airspace has been closed since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran on Saturday, provoking Iranian missile and drone attacks across the region. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Americans who wanted to leave Israel could take shuttles set up by the Israeli government that are taking people to Taba, Egypt, but his embassy said that it couldn’t guarantee the safety of Americans who choose to take the shuttles.
“The US Embassy cannot make any recommendation (for or against) the [Israeli] Ministry of Tourism’s shuttle,” the embassy said. “If you choose to avail yourself of this option to depart, the US government cannot guarantee your safety. The information is provided as a courtesy to those wishing to leave Israel.”
The US Embassy in Doha said that Americans who wish to leave Qatar should “take advantage of commercial transportation options” and that those who choose to stay “should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate,” but added that “these alternative plans should not rely on the US government for assisted departure or evacuation.”
The State Department said on Tuesday that it would charter planes from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan and try to facilitate additional ground options for Americans in Israel.
President Trump was asked why there wasn’t an evacuation plan already in place, and he said it was because “it all happened very quickly,” though he oversaw a major US military deployment to the region and had been threatening to bomb Iran for nearly two months.
