U.S. orders nationals to evacuate from 14 Middle East countries… stepping up attacks?

As tensions in the Middle East rapidly escalated, the U.S. government urged its citizens staying in 14 countries in the region—including Iran and Israel—to leave immediately.

According to Reuters and other sources on the 2nd (local time), the U.S. State Department issued travel alerts that day for 14 destinations: Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan, and Yemen.

Mora Namdar, deputy assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, said, “Due to security risks, we urge U.S. citizens in those countries to depart immediately using available commercial transportation.”

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia posted a notice on social networking services (SNS) early on the 3rd (local time), after a fire broke out following a drone strike, advising U.S. citizens in the kingdom to shelter indoors, including at home.

Closures of diplomatic missions in the region and staff drawdowns are also continuing. The U.S. Embassy in Jordan said its staff had left the area due to risks. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait said it would suspend all operations until further notice and urged U.S. citizens not to come to the embassy but to seek shelter immediately.

The steps come as Iran has launched retaliatory strikes in response to attacks by the U.S. and Israel on the 28th of last month, with Israel as well as U.S. bases in the Middle East coming under attack. As the war entered its fourth day, a U.S. government official also said the U.S. would further intensify attacks on Iran.

CNN, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that the U.S. is preparing to “

significantly increase” attacks on Iran within the next 24 hours. The official assessed that the initial strikes achieved the objective of weakening Iran’s defenses, and said the next phase would focus on destroying Iran’s missile production facilities, unmanned aerial vehicles and naval capabilities.

Shin Yong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com