'Depart now!': US asks its citizens to leave more than dozen Middle East countries citing 'serious safety risks'

Visuals from attack during the Iran-US-Israel war

• US urges citizens to leave over a dozen Middle East nations
• Travel warning issued amid US-Israel-Iran military tensions
• US sets up emergency task force as regional tensions escalate

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The United States Department of State on Monday urged American citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern nations immediately, including Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, as military exchanges between the United States and Israel against Iran intensified.

Mora Namdar, assistant secretary for consular affairs at the State Department, advised US nationals to exit the region through available commercial transport options, saying it was necessary "due to safety risks."

The travel alert followed a series of updates to advisories covering several countries across West Asia, recommending against travel. The latest warning applies to Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Earlier on Monday, the United States Embassy in Amman confirmed that its staff had left the facility "due to a threat."

The US government has also set up an inter-agency emergency task force to oversee developments and coordinate its response to the ongoing conflict, according to a US official.

On Saturday, the United States and Israel conducted a series of strikes targeting multiple locations inside Iran, resulting in the deaths of several senior figures, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response, Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on several American and Israeli installations across the region.

Donald Trump said on Monday that the fighting had been expected to last four to five weeks, though he suggested it could continue for a longer period.

The confrontation has pushed the region into war-like conditions, causing multiple fatalities and driving up global energy costs after Iranian authorities warned that any vessel attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz would be targeted. The waterway is a major transit route for the world’s oil shipments.

Marco Rubio said that Scott Bessent and Chris Wright are expected to unveil measures on Tuesday aimed at controlling the surge in energy prices.

"We anticipated this could be an issue, and Secretary Wright and Bessent will begin to roll out those steps, starting tomorrow, to mitigate, to mitigate against the impact that could have," Rubio said ahead of a briefing with congressional leaders about the strikes.