Americans urged to leave 14 Middle East countries amid Iran war “due to serious security risks”

The US State Department has urged Americans to leave 14 countries in the Middle East amid the escalation The war in Iran.

Americans were urged late Monday to “leave now” from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

More than a million Americans are believed to be in the region, the source said.

American citizens were initially urged to leave “using available transportation, due to serious security risks.” But on Tuesday, the State Department said it was helping charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Americans and that it would “continue to secure additional forces as security conditions permit.”

The State Department has been contacting American citizens to offer them seats on chartered flights, an official told CBS News. More than 120 people were placing calls to its 24/7 call center.

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The State Department also told all non-emergency US government employees and their families to travel to Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Non-essential personnel and their families were also ordered to leave the US embassies in Cyprus and Pakistan.

The State Department said Tuesday it was helping Americans book commercial flights, as these options were available to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Egypt.

“For those in countries that do not have commercial flights, the Department makes it easier to go to third countries as conditions allow,” said the Department. “That includes the underground travel routes that are being built for American citizens who wish to travel to Israel.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “nearly 1,600” Americans have requested assistance from the region. The department also said on Tuesday that it had responded to the calls of nearly 3,000 US citizens in the region and “will waive any legal requirements for US citizens to reimburse the government for travel expenses.”

Americans needing government travel planning assistance should call +1-202-501-4444 from abroad or +1-888-407-4747 from the US and Canada.

Amid efforts to leave the region, four US embassies closed and suspended consular services, although a State Department official said US operations were still ongoing.

The US embassies in Beirut and Kuwait announced on Tuesday that they would be closed until further notice “due to regional tensions.” The embassy in Kuwait was closed a day after smoke was seen from the machines following Iran’s attack on the country.

The US embassies in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem said they would be closed on Tuesday. The embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, causing a small fire and minor damage, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said on Monday. A US official and a Gulf official confirmed to CBS News that the CIA station at the embassy in Riyadh was hit, but there were no American casualties. The CIA declined to comment.

On Tuesday, Rubio addressed the drone attack on the US embassy in Dubai, where he said the drone crashed into a parking lot near the chancellor building and burst into flames. All employees are accounted for, he said.

The US and Israel began attacking Iran on Saturday at what President Trump said explained on Monday as the “last best chance” to deal with the threat posed by Iran’s missile and nuclear program. He spoke reasons he said he decided to order strikes, bombing more than 1,000 targets in the first days of what he said could be a week-long conflict. It includes destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, destroying Iran’s navy and preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Six US soldiers were killed during the war. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Wednesday that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Iran since Saturday.

Americans – once travelers who find themselves stranded during the closure of the regional airport and airspace – they were trying to figure out how to leave the region, and others expressing frustration over the government’s response.

“We’re literally stuck,” Sasha Hoffman, an American who lives in Chicago and was visiting Dubai when the strikes began, told CBS News on Tuesday. “It’s really frustrating that right now the US is saying ‘Americans go home’ when in fact we can’t go home. We had flights booked today, tomorrow, all canceled. All airspace is closed until tomorrow night, now, if you’re in the UAE.”

In Israel, American Tamar Rubinstein, who is pregnant with twins, said she was taking a bus to Egypt and then flying through Europe back home to Chicago – a trip she said would take about two and a half days.

“There is such a lack of clarity,” he said.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said earlier Tuesday, “We are receiving many requests about leaving Israel from US citizens who are currently in Israel or have family here.”

In a lengthy post on social media, Huckabee explained how people can leave Israel, noting that “there are SO MANY options.” He said the American Embassy is not in a position to remove or directly help Americans to leave the country.

An estimated 9,000 Americans have traveled safely to the Middle East since the conflict began, the State Department said.