WASHINGTON — In the days after U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran, the State Department issued new travel advisories urging Americans to reconsider travel to several Middle East countries. Critics say those warnings arrived too late, leaving thousands of U.S. citizens stranded across the region amid a wave of Iranian drone attacks on American facilities.
A senior State Department official, speaking on background, said earlier action could have kept “far fewer people in harm’s way.” Travelers in Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and other countries described conflicting guidance from U.S. officials: some were told to evacuate even as airports closed, while others reported busy embassy lines or overwhelmed consular staff who could not provide timely help.
Dozens of House Democrats sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling the apparent lack of preparation, planning and clear communication “unacceptable” and a breach of the department’s duty to protect Americans overseas. Current and former diplomats also criticized the administration’s handling, saying the situation was foreseeable and mismanaged.
Administration officials, including President Donald Trump, acknowledged difficulties explaining why contingency plans and messaging were insufficient. “It happened all very quickly,” Trump told reporters.
Several U.S. diplomatic posts were directly affected by drone strikes: the U.S. Embassy in Jordan was evacuated; a compound in Kuwait was struck; the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia sustained a fire after being hit; and an attack set a parking lot on fire outside the U.S. Consulate in Dubai. Officials say at least six American service members have been killed since the strikes on Iran; there have been no reported civilian American fatalities.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration’s actions, noting the State Department had issued January Level 4 “do not travel” advisories for Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. She also pointed out the department issued Level 3 “reconsider travel” warnings for Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Cyprus only after the recent air campaign began.
The Defense Department said it would support evacuations with C-17 cargo planes, while State Department officials said they were arranging charter flights. Late Wednesday the State Department announced that one charter flight had departed the Middle East en route to the United States. Secretary Rubio told reporters that flights for Americans had been organized but that country-by-country airspace closures posed operational challenges. As of Wednesday, the department said it had assisted nearly 6,500 Americans with security guidance and travel help.
Current and former diplomats blamed staffing cuts at the State Department and a shortage of confirmed ambassadors for leaving the diplomatic corps thin when experienced personnel were needed most. A former senior official said mixed messaging from the White House, fewer professionals in post and limited direct connections with Washington hindered planning and communications.
The American Foreign Service Association said the crisis “exposes real gaps in America’s diplomatic readiness,” warning that the loss of regional, crisis-management, consular and language expertise — including Farsi and Arabic specialists — has weakened the department’s capacity.
Personal accounts highlighted frustration with the government response. Cody Greene, 36, of Tampa, Florida, said he was on a work trip to Dubai when the conflict began. He told NBC News he called the State Department number set up for stranded Americans and reached an automated message saying the U.S. had no plans to rescue callers and advising them to make their own arrangements. “I feel betrayed and left out to dry by my own government who started this whole thing without any plan in place to get their own people out,” Greene said.