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United States embassies in capitals across the Middle East urged American citizens to beware of an “unforeseen escalation” in the regional conflict and asked them to be ready to leave on Saturday as Iran’s military accused the US of “escalating tensions” in the region and warned countries against cooperating with Washington.
US embassies in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates posted the alerts online.
“Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation,” said the security alert.
The messages urged citizens to check flight details and to follow safety advice from local authorities.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” it said.
Americans in Jordan were told not to visit US military bases there, which have recently come under Iranian missile attack, and in Israel they were urged to seek the location of the nearest bomb shelter.
“The Iranian regime is unpredictable, as seen by its recent decisions to attack areas in the region without warning or provocations as well as to expand attacks to areas not previously targeted [such as Egypt],” said a post on the US Embassy Jerusalem site.
The US embassy in Beirut said that the mission remained on “ordered departure status”, meaning that non-emergency US government personnel were still relocated outside of Lebanon.
Iran’s warning
“The United States is rapidly moving down the path of escalating tensions in the region,” said Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s military central command.
“Any country serving as a defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war,” he said in a statement read on state television.
The remarks came after US President Donald Trump reiterated threats to hit Iran “very hard”.
US media reported he was considering renewed heavy attacks as soon as this weekend, including against energy infrastructure targets.
This week, Iran and the US resumed overnight exchanges of fire after a days-long lull in fighting although there were no reported strikes overnight Friday to Saturday.
Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, also warned against any attacks on Iranian infrastructure.
“You calculate through military equations, but we respond with the logic of history,” he wrote on X. “Attacking Iran’s infrastructure directly awakens the fault lines on which 250 years of your hegemonic architecture have been built.”