State Department Tells Americans To Prepare To Flee From Middle East

The State Department is advising Americans across the Middle East to “consider departing, or be prepared to depart” from the region a day after President Trump warned that America will be “hitting [Iran] very hard.”The warning appeared to foreshadow a new wave of attacks on the Islamic state, which administration sources have told reporters could come as soon as this weekend. Iran has vowed to retaliate against any country in the region backing an American offensive.The unusual State Department warning applied to at least 10 countries, including Israel. “Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation,” it said on X. “Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions.”The statement added that Americans outside the Middle East “should seriously reconsider travel to and through the region,” noting that “U.S. diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted.”The warning follows the latest threat from Mr. Trump, who said at a Cabinet meeting Friday at Camp David that he is running out of patience with Iran. “We’ll be hitting them very hard and, you know, at some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”CNN on Saturday quoted two unidentified administration sources saying that new strikes aimed at bringing an end to the war with Iran could come as early as this weekend. The network said the sources did not specify targets or the precise scope of the strikes and cautioned that they could still be called off.Iran has responded with its own warning from the head of its wartime military command, Major General Ali Abdollahi, who said Saturday, “The United States is moving at an accelerating pace to fan the flames of a full-scale regional war.”“It is hereby stated explicitly,” the general told countries in the region, according to al Jazeera. “Muslim countries must, with foresight, monitor America’s crimes and reconsider their cooperation and alignment with the US. Otherwise, any country that makes itself a defensive shield for criminal, aggressor America will burn in the fire of war.”

State Department Tells Americans To Prepare To Flee From Middle East

State Department Tells Americans To Prepare To Flee From Middle East

More from the New York Sun

Crewman Stabs Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight in Suspected Hijacking Attempt

Was AOC’s Coronation Tour a Bust?

When Spectator Sport Was the Best Game in Town

Antisemitism Accusations Against Rightist Rising Star, Jordan Bardella, Roil France’s Presidential Contest

In the Pied-à-Terre Tax Clash, Where Were the Adults?

From Russia to America, Bears Advance, People Retreat

Escalating Crisis Over Pro-British March at Northern Ireland Flashpoint Raises Specter of ‘The Troubles’

Tech Experts To Testify on ‘Rogue AI’ Before Senate Subcommittee

More from the New York Sun

Crewman Stabs Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight in Suspected Hijacking Attempt

Was AOC’s Coronation Tour a Bust?

When Spectator Sport Was the Best Game in Town

Antisemitism Accusations Against Rightist Rising Star, Jordan Bardella, Roil France’s Presidential Contest

In the Pied-à-Terre Tax Clash, Where Were the Adults?

From Russia to America, Bears Advance, People Retreat

Escalating Crisis Over Pro-British March at Northern Ireland Flashpoint Raises Specter of ‘The Troubles’

Tech Experts To Testify on ‘Rogue AI’ Before Senate Subcommittee