State Dept. scrambles to aid stranded Americans amid attacks, airport closures

The State Department is scrambling amid the fallout from President Donald Trump’s high-stakes military assault on Iran and Tehran’s blistering response, with at least three embassies shuttered as of Tuesday as violence worsened and U.S. citizens left in the region with limited means to escape.

A Trump administration official said the U.S. government is “actively securing” a mix of military and chartered aircraft for Americans who want to leave the Middle East. Dylan Johnson, who heads the department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs, said officials have been in contact with nearly 3,000 Americans thus far, and he directed others wishing to leave to call a hotline to learn what options may be available.

It was not immediately clear where flights may become available. Spokespeople for the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which did not provide any clarity on the situation.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail internal discussions, said that some military family members stationed in Bahrain have been flown to safety and that it is possible the military will be asked to do more for stranded Americans elsewhere in coming days but that no evacuation flights were imminent as of Tuesday morning.

American citizens in the Middle East have expressed frustration with what they say has been a lack of clarity from the administration as violence has reverberated across the region in the days since Trump approved the military operation against Iran. Iranian missile and attack drones have struck Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and other locations, including civilian targets.

The U.S. embassies in Kuwait, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia were closed as of Tuesday, and U.S. citizens were told to stay away until further notice.

An internal State Department alert reviewed by The Washington Post said the embassy in Riyadh was hit multiple times by drone attacks and that its main building was “contaminated with smoke,” with “part of its roof collapsed.”

In Kuwait City, a warehouse was set ablaze and the main building’s windows were damaged, according to a separate notification.

The decision to close the U.S. compound in Beirut was made due to “ongoing regional tensions,” officials said.

The closure of key diplomatic sites stands to further upend efforts to assist U.S. citizens, whom the State Department has urged to leave the Middle East immediately. That warning, issued late Monday, applies to 14 countries and cites “serious safety risks.”

The situation facing Americans has been made more perilous by the apparent targeting of tourist sites by Iranian forces, including hotels and airports. The State Department has encouraged U.S. citizens to flee using commercial transportation, but wide-scale airspace closures have made a quick exit difficult, if not impossible.

Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, wrote on social media early Tuesday that for Americans living in or visiting the Jewish state, “there are VERY LIMITED options,” as Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv remained closed and there was no indication when it may reopen.

He recommended people take a tourist bus to Egypt and seek a flight from there, saying travel through neighboring Jordan was not advised, as “flights are not consistent.” The U.S. Embassy is “not in a position at this time” to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.

At least eight countries have had their airspace completely closed, at least temporarily, since the start of hostilities Saturday, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Israel, according to an online flight tracker, Flightradar24.

Qatar Airways said Tuesday that its flights remain suspended. Huckabee said that even once Ben Gurion Airport reopens, “there will be VERY limited flights,” with priority given to people already were ticketed by El Al, Israel’s national carrier. “Doubtful,” he added, “that other airlines will fly in/out for a while.”

Cristina, an American in the UAE, said she is feeling “frustrated and deeply uncertain about what steps to take.” She spoke with The Post on the condition that only her first name be used for fear of reprisals under state restrictions on “circulating rumors.”

“The most difficult part is not the situation itself, but the absence of clarity, compounded by messages that only heighten fear without offering direction,” she said. She has been trying to secure a flight out of the country since the start of the war, “but, until now, it simply hasn’t been possible.”

She said she had heard of some people leaving through Oman but added, “that route feels logistically overwhelming.”

The State Department convened what it called an Iran task force on Saturday to “assist American citizens and support diplomatic efforts,” according to a statement released to reporters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later released a video that said he had personally ordered the moves in response to “cowardly attacks by Iran.”

Critics of the Trump administration, including Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California), said that Rubio must do more for stranded Americans and urged him to immediately schedule U.S. government evacuation flights.

“You told Americans to depart now via commercial means when you know many airports/airspace are closed,” the congressman wrote on social media. “ … Maybe you should have thought of a frickin’ plan first.”

John Hudson, Meryl Kornfield and Alex Horton contributed to this report.