The U.S. State Department reiterated its urgent warning for American citizens to leave the Middle East region if possible before flight suspensions, according to the advisory. The department warned citizens to prepare for possible flight cancellations and closure of Middle Eastern airspace.
The U.S. State Department on Sunday reiterated its urgent advisory for American citizens to leave the Middle East region, explicitly warning of potential flight cancellations and regional airspace closure. The advisory, issued at 17:57 Jerusalem, follows a series of escalating warnings throughout the weekend.
The thread of warnings began Saturday evening, Aug 1, at 22:29 Jerusalem, when security analyst Yair Goldblatt reported that embassies in 10 Arab countries had issued warnings to their citizens. The State Department then confirmed travel warnings for nine Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, and subsequently expanded the advisory to cover the entire Middle East. Earlier in the week, on Jul 18, the department issued a travel warning for Israel urging Americans to leave immediately. On Jul 23, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq urged its citizens to depart. On Jul 24, the department detailed the advisory, warning of airline cancellations and airspace closures. On Saturday at 20:30 Jerusalem, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert urging Americans to prepare for possible flight cancellations.
As The Zioneer has reported, the diplomatic warnings have been accompanied by heightened military readiness. On Jun 11, the IRGC threatened "unprecedented attacks" against American assets. More recently, on Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in the UAE urged citizens to leave, and the State Department issued urgent warnings for 18 Middle Eastern countries, telling citizens to "flee" while commercial flights remain available.
The State Department has not specified the threat driving the warnings, and it has not provided a timeline for potential airspace closures or flight cancellations. As The Zioneer reported on Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem's alert came amid reports that the U.S. and Israel are planning a large-scale attack on Iran.
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