State Department coordinating military flights to evacuate Americans from Middle East [View all]

Source: Stars and Stripes

March 3, 2026


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 the official, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson. 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 Monday on X 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.

Read more: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/2026-03-03/state-department-military-flights-evacuations-iran-20939850.html

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Fire. Aim. Ready.

AP blasted out a useless headline without a story within the past hour that many sources picked up but with zero content to it. At least Stars and Stripes took the time to write something up.