‘Depart now’: US tells its citizens to urgently leave almost all Mideast countries, including Israel
Highly unusual directive, issued on third day of US-Israel war against Iran, affects hundreds of thousands of Americans, including over 200,000 in Israel; comes as Iran widens retaliatory attacks, Trump vows larger strikes
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The United States on Monday urged Americans to immediately leave all of the Middle East from Egypt eastward, including Israel, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed “even more punishing” strikes on Iran after the Islamic Republic launched retaliatory attacks on Israel, US assets in the region and several Gulf states.
The State Department “urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks,” Mora Namdar, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, wrote on X.
Namdar listed Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran.
She also listed Egypt, the most populous country in the region, which has not been targeted in Iran’s retaliatory strikes despite years of tense relations with the Islamic Republic.
“Depart now via commercial means due to serious safety risks,” the State Department’s new security update urged.
The highly unusual directive potentially affects an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Americans who live in the Middle East, over 200,000 of them in Israel and the West Bank.
The US has not organized its own evacuation flights, and commercial flights have been disrupted across the region, with Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain having shuttered their airspace. Israel is not expected to reopen its airspace before next week, and the country’s Ben Gurion Airport is closed.
Americans in the Middle East were told they can reach the US State Department 24/7 at 1-202-501-4444, and were urged to register with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) via step.state.gov to get updates.
The US State Department on Friday authorized non-emergency personnel and the family members of those stationed in Israel to leave the country due to “safety risks,” with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee reportedly telling embassy staff that if they want to leave Israel, they “should do so TODAY.”
The @SecRubio @StateDept urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks. Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means, CALL US 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from… pic.twitter.com/vdplAik2Sq
— Assistant Secretary Mora Namdar (@AsstSecStateCA) March 2, 2026
“To all American citizens in the Middle East: your safety and security is our number one priority,” Rubio said in a subsequent social media post, urging US citizens in the region to follow State Department updates on social media and STEP.
He did not address the directive issued an hour earlier for Americans to flee much of the Middle East.
Speaking about the bombing campaign that the US and Israel launched on Iran on Saturday, Rubio told reporters in Washington earlier Monday that “the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military.”
“The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now,” he said.
To all American citizens in the Middle East: your safety and security is our number one priority.
Sign up to receive STEP alerts at https://t.co/SpQfuj4gN2.
Get information at @TravelGov and you can call the department 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444. pic.twitter.com/G8grZVgmCF
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 2, 2026
Meanwhile, CNN quoted an unnamed senior US official as saying the US was preparing for a “major uptick” in attacks on Iran over the next 24 hours.
According to the official, Washington assesses that the bombing campaign so far has succeeded in degrading Iran’s defenses, and the next phase of strikes will target Iran’s missile production, drones and naval capabilities.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said that the strikes on Iran aim to create the conditions for Iranians to topple the Islamic Republic.
Iran has responded with deadly ballistic missile and drone strikes on Israel and Arab countries that host US military bases.
Early on Tuesday, the US embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones, resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said on X, citing an initial assessment.
US outlet NewsNation later reported that Trump had said in an interview that Iran would soon find out Washington’s retaliation for the strike on the Riyadh embassy and the deaths of US military personnel.
Trump added that he doesn’t think American boots on the ground would be necessary in Iran, according to the outlet.
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) on Monday said six US military personnel have been killed and 18 seriously wounded since the start of hostilities with Iran on Saturday.
The toll was up from the four people killed and five seriously wounded that CENTCOM reported on Sunday.
The two additional casualties registered on Monday came after “US forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region,” CENTCOM said, without elaborating.
The six slain service members were all killed in Kuwait.
According to a US official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, they were Army soldiers from the same logistics unit.
When asked about the deaths earlier on Monday, US Defense Secretary Hegseth said an Iranian weapon made it past allied air defenses “and, in that particular case, happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified.”
The Times of Israel Community.