The U.S. State Department is now telling all U.S. Citizens from 14 middle east countries to make immediate plans to exit the region. These are not travel advisories, these are specific instructions to leave the region.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on the social media site X that Americans in countries, including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel, should “DEPART NOW” using any available commercial transportation.
The guidance comes as many major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region as the war that began when U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday. It has since grown into a wider regional conflict, touching nearly every country nearby.
A “boxcar effect” is now taking place. As each day passes without airline flights available, more and more travelers are stuck in the region as their planned departure is cancelled. What might begin day #1 as several thousand people stranded, can quickly become several tens of thousands in a few days. The instructions to exit appear timed as an effort to avoid the numbers continuing to climb. However, without airlines operating departures become problematic.