The United States Department of State has urged American citizens to immediately leave more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, citing rapidly deteriorating security conditions as the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran intensifies.
The warning, issued by the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar, comes amid ongoing US Israeli strikes against Iran and a widening cycle of retaliatory attacks across the region. In a public advisory, US nationals were advised to depart using commercial means while they remain available.
Countries named in the advisory include Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
US travel advisories of this scale are rare and typically signal serious concern about the safety of civilians and diplomatic personnel. By urging immediate departure rather than caution or sheltering in place, the State Department indicated that conditions could worsen with little warning.
Egypt Included in Regional Warning
The inclusion of Egypt may reflect growing concern among diploamts that the conflict’s effects are no longer confined to active battle zones. While Egypt has not been directly involved in military operations, its proximity to Gaza, Israel, and key regional transit routes has heightened international caution.
No specific threats inside Egypt were cited in the advisory. However, the State Department warned that the intensity of the ongoing attacks, combined with the absence of a clear exit strategy, raises the risk of prolonged instability across the Middle East.
The warning follows days of escalating violence, including strikes inside Iran and counterattacks targeting multiple countries seen as aligned with the US Israeli campaign.
Embassy Evacuations and Heightened Alerts
Hours after the latest advisory, Iranian drones targeted the US Embassy in Riyadh, confirmed the Saudi Ministry of Defence. The US Embassy has since shut down temporarily.
Earlier in the week, the US Embassy in Amman announced that it had temporarily evacuated its staff due to what it described as an unspecified threat.
“Out of an abundance of caution, all personnel at the U.S. Embassy have temporarily departed the Embassy compound due to a threat,” the embassy said in a security alert posted on social media.
Jordan is among several countries responding to Iranian counterattacks following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes attributed to the United States and Israel. His death marked a dramatic escalation in the conflict and has triggered fears of a broader regional war.
A Conflict with Expanding Reach
The State Department advisory underscores growing concern in Washington that the conflict could deepen and spread further, disrupting air travel, commercial shipping and diplomatic operations across the Middle East.
In recent days, multiple airlines have suspended flights to and from the region, while several governments have closed or restricted their airspace.
Energy infrastructure and strategic facilities have also come under threat, raising global alarm over economic and security consequences.
For Egypt, the warning places renewed focus on regional stability at a moment when the country is already grappling with economic pressures and ongoing diplomatic efforts related to Gaza.
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