Middle East
State Department coordinating military flights to evacuate Americans from Middle East
Stars and Stripes
March 3, 2026
An Airbus A380 from Abu Dhabi lands without passengers, in Munich, Germany, on Monday due to safety reasons as a cabin crew of at least 17 people would have been required to take passengers on board, which, according to Lufthansa, was not available and could not be flown in due to massive restrictions. (Malin Wunderlich/AP)
A State Department official on Tuesday confirmed in a post on X that the agency was “actively securing military aircraft and charter flights” for U.S. citizens wishing to leave the Middle East as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran expands regionally.
The department is in direct contact with about 3,000 Americans abroad, said Dylan Johnson, the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs.
The department said Tuesday that more than 9,000 Americans had safely returned from the Middle East since the weekend, many of them without government assistance, and that it was actively assisting those who have reached out for help, including by securing military aircraft and charter flights.
“We’ve had a couple instances in which we have planes in the air, and on the way, and unfortunately, the airspace gets closed, and they have to turn back around,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill.
In countries where airports or airspace was closed, the department said, it is organizing land travel to countries where flights are available, including Egypt and Oman.
Efforts to evacuate Americans from the Middle East have been hampered by disruptions to embassies, consulates and airports.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on X Monday that Americans in Iran and Israel, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, should “DEPART NOW” using any available commercial transportation. The agency has also ordered government workers in several countries to depart.
But at least eight countries have had their airspace closed since the start of hostilities Saturday, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Israel, according to an online flight tracker, Flightradar24.
Dubai’s main airport was partially damaged by a suspected strike on Saturday, and earlier that day smoke was seen rising from a U.S. base near an airport in Irbil, Iraq, while an attack days later from two drones on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, caused a “limited fire.”
The American embassies in Kuwait, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia were closed as of Tuesday, and U.S. citizens were told to stay away until further notice.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, late Monday offered advice to Americans wishing to leave Israel but noted the U.S. Embassy “is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist” them.
The U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, was also disrupted when protesters clashed with security forces in an incident that left at least 22 people dead and more than 120 others injured. The embassy in Pakistan is monitoring for further protests at its sites throughout the country.
The State Department has urged Americans abroad to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov to receive alerts from their nearest consulate, as well as to follow @TravelGov on social media. Those in the Middle East can contact the department any time at 1-202-501-4444.
Contributing: The Washington Post, The Associated Press.