US embassies across the Middle East issued new security alerts to Americans in the region on Tuesday as the US launched what appeared to be a heavy round of airstrikes across Iran’s coast and the IRGC began to respond with attacks on US bases.
US embassies in Jordan, Jerusalem, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar said that due to “tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation.”
The US Embassy in Amman specifically advised Americans “to avoid travel to military bases in Jordan” as US military facilities in the country have become a frequent target in Iran’s retaliatory strikes.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions,’ the security alerts said.
US embassies in the region issued similar alerts during exchanges of strikes between the US and Iran in July. The US bombed Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday, marking the first direct strikes on the Islamic Republic in about one month, and now the US strikes have significantly escalated.
The US has maintained its increased military buildup in the Middle East, and family members of US Army soldiers in the 82nd Airborne deployed in the region have been notified that the deployment will be extended to a full year. The soldiers arrived in the region at the end of March, when media reports said the Trump administration was considering some sort of ground operation against Iran’s Persian Gulf islands.
