US Faces Largest Diplomatic Drawdown in Middle East Since Iraq War

The United States is navigating its most extensive diplomatic withdrawal from the Middle East in over two decades as conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran intensifies, creating unprecedented challenges for American citizens in the region.

The State Department has been forced to close multiple embassies to the public, shut down at least one consulate, and order the departure of staff and families from at least six nations. Americans in 14 countries across the region have been advised to leave immediately, despite major travel disruptions including airport closures and widespread flight cancellations.

“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 at a Capitol Hill briefing.

Despite these obstacles, the State Department reported Tuesday that more than 9,000 Americans had safely returned from the Middle East since the weekend, many without government assistance. Officials are actively helping those who have reached out, including arranging military aircraft and charter flights when possible.

Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on social media platform X that the department has been in contact with nearly 3,000 Americans seeking to leave or requesting travel information. Rubio clarified that about 1,500 people had formally requested evacuation assistance.

For those stranded in countries with closed airports or airspace, the State Department is organizing land transportation to neighboring nations where flights remain available, including Egypt and Oman. Charter flights are being arranged from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The scale of this diplomatic withdrawal matches or exceeds what occurred during the 2003 Iraq invasion, when the State Department reduced staffing across more than a dozen countries and issued widespread travel advisories throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

The current situation has created confusion and raised questions about the administration’s preparedness for this escalation. On Monday, Americans received a hastily drafted announcement telling them to leave 14 countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE, and Yemen.

By Tuesday, the State Department had ordered non-essential diplomats and embassy families to leave Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. Embassies in Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia were closed to the public, while the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, completely suspended operations.

The situation has turned increasingly dangerous for U.S. diplomatic facilities. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry reported a drone attack on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh that caused a “limited fire” and partial roof collapse, though no deaths or injuries to staff were reported. Two drones also struck near the embassy in Kuwait City without causing casualties.

“If Americans are being instructed to leave but are given no viable pathway, that suggests one of two things: The system is not being activated, or the system has atrophied,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, a group supporting Afghan nationals who worked with U.S. forces.

VanDiver noted that during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration evacuated 121,000 people in just days. “Crisis response cannot be partisan,” he said. “It has to survive transitions. It has to be staffed, exercised, and protected.”

The U.S. government cannot force citizens to leave any country, and travel advisories are often disregarded, particularly by those with family ties to the region. While the State Department declines to provide official estimates, tens of thousands of U.S. citizens, many with dual nationality, are believed to live in Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran.

The only current restriction on U.S. passport travel is to North Korea, though Secretary Rubio indicated before the strikes began that such a restriction might also be applied to Iran as the conflict continues to escalate.