As thousands of Americans remain stranded in war zones, the Trump administration is facing criticism.
WASHINGTON – Days after the US and Israel launched an air war against Iran, the State Department issued new advice warning Americans to reconsider travel to several countries in the region. By then, the situation had already escalated.
Thousands of Americans are now stranded in the Middle East.
Iran retaliated with drone attacks on US facilities, leading Democratic lawmakers and current and former State Department officials to sharply criticise the Trump administration for failing to plan for what they say was a predictable scenario.
“You may have seen very few people being harmed,” said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorised to speak publicly.
The State Department has given conflicting advice to US citizens stranded in countries like Jordan, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Some places asked them to vacate as soon as possible, even though airports remained closed. The State Department also advised people to contact US embassies for assistance, unless they find signals busy or overwhelmed staff unable to provide help.
“These issues were predictable,” dozens of congressional Democrats wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The lack of clear preparation, planning, and communication with Americans abroad is unacceptable and a violation of the State Department’s core mission of providing consular assistance and protection to American citizens.”
US officials – and President Donald Trump himself – are struggling to explain why the government was not better prepared for the consequences of Iranian retaliation and what message to send to Americans in the region.
“It all happened very quickly,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
Over the past few days, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan was evacuated due to the threat of attack, the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait was attacked by a drone, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia caught fire after being hit by two Iranian drones, and a drone attack set fire to a parking lot outside the U.S. Consulate in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran, at least six US service members have lost their lives. But there is no report of any casualties among American citizens.
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt on Wednesday rejected the criticism, saying the administration should have done more to warn Americans and help people stranded abroad.
The State Department provided numerous indications, according to Leavitt.
He said Rubio issued a Level 4 travel advisory for several countries in the region in January.
This is the highest level, equivalent to a “do not travel” warning. A handful of countries had this designation before the war, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
But just after the air campaign began over the weekend, the State Department issued a Level 3 “reconsider travel” advisory for at least seven countries in the region: Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus.
The Defence Department said the military planned to assist the evacuation efforts with C-17 cargo planes, and State Department officials said they were arranging charter flights to evacuate Americans from the war zone.
Late Wednesday night, State Department said on X that One such flight had departed from the Middle East and was en route to the US
Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the US had arranged flights for American citizens but that some countries had closed their airspace due to Iranian air strikes.
“The challenge we face is the closure of the airspace,” Rubio said. He added, “But rest assured, we are confident that we will be able to help every American.”
As of Wednesday, the State Department said it had assisted about 6,500 Americans abroad, offering security guidance and travel assistance.
Current and former diplomats said the administration’s deep cuts to the State Department workforce, as well as the failure to nominate ambassadors to several Arab countries hit by the crisis, have weakened the Foreign Service at a time when it needs experienced veterans to manage the growing crisis.
“The White House is sending contradictory messages,” expressed a former senior State Department official.
“When you don’t have the professionals that you typically see, you don’t have confirmed ambassadors in the office, and you don’t have a direct relationship with the White House, I think that’s really impacting both our planning and our messaging.”
The American Foreign Service Association, which acts as a union for US diplomatic corps employees, said the crisis “highlights real gaps in America’s diplomatic readiness” after the administration cut the State Department’s workforce.
The association said it “warned that the State Department’s capacity to respond has been weakened by the loss of experienced personnel with critical regional, crisis management, consular, and language expertise, including experts in Persian and Arabic – skills that are indispensable at moments like this.”
Cody Green, 36, an American from Tampa, Florida, was on a work trip to Dubai when the war broke out.
“Today is my son’s first birthday. I promised my wife I’d be home on time — and look what happened,” Green told NBC News on Wednesday.
He said he called a phone number issued by the State Department for Americans stranded in the Middle East but received no help.
He said, “An automated line told you America has no plan to save you, and you need to make your own housing.”
Green continued: “I was betrayed and abandoned by my own government, which started all this without a plan to take out its own people.”
