US orders citizens to evacuate several Middle East countries including Saudi, Egypt

US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which was attacked by Iran this morning

The US State Department urged American citizens to depart from several countries and regions across the Middle East, citing serious safety risks as war in Iran escalates.

In a security update released Monday, the department listed Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen as the locations affected.

In a post on the US social media X’s account, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar urged Americans to “DEPART NOW” from the places listed using available commercial transportation.

“The @SecRubio @StateDept urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation due to serious safety risks. Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means,” she wrote.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio later released a video message on Monday night, saying that the safety and security of US citizens is the State Department's highest priority, with instructions on how to stay up to date with the latest safety and security information.

"At my direction, the department has activated a 24/7 task force that is providing American citizens with up-to-the-minute safety and security information," Rubio said.

The US and Israel launched attacks on Tehran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top government officials, including military generals.

In retaliation, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles targeting US and Israeli interests in over seven countries, including Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan.

Earlier today, the United States Embassy in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, was hit by two drones, and a “limited fire” broke out at the diplomatic compound, as Iran claimed another hit on the US base in Bahrain.

The strike on the US Embassy early on Tuesday also caused “minor material damage” to the compound, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Later reports said more drones were targeting the site amid Iran’s retaliation across the Gulf to US-Israeli attacks.

Already the US has lost four soldiers in the region as US President Donald Trump told Americans he expects more casualties, with the war expected to last for at least five weeks.

Trump ⁠told the NewsNation media outlet that the US response to the embassy attack and the killing of several American service members would soon be made clear. “You’ll find out soon,” he said.

The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia issued a shelter-in-place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dhahran and is limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region.

“We recommend American citizens in the Kingdom shelter in place immediately and avoid the Embassy until further notice due to an attack on the facility,” the Embassy said.

The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia said it continues to monitor the regional situation; “We encourage all travelers to review our most recent Security Alerts, review any travel plans in case of disruptions, and make appropriate decisions to keep themselves and their families safe.”

In a separate but related incident, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US airbase in Bahrain, Iran’s elite force said in a statement carried on Tuesday by the official IRNA news agency.

“The IRGC announced that… its naval forces carried out a large-scale drone and missile attack at dawn on the US air base in the Sheikh Isa area of Bahrain,” IRNA posted on Telegram.