WASHINGTON — In the days after the U.S. and Israel launched an air war against Iran, the State Department issued new advisories warning Americans to reconsider traveling to several countries in the region. By then, it was too late.
Thousands of Americans are now stranded in the Middle East as Iran retaliates with drone attacks on U.S. facilities, prompting Democratic lawmakers and current and former State Department officials to sharply criticize the Trump administration for failing to plan for what they say was a predictable scenario.
"You would have had far fewer people in harm's way," a senior State Department official said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
U.S. citizens marooned in countries like Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have received conflicting advice from the State Department. They were told to evacuate as soon as possible in some places even though airports were closed. The State Department also advised people to contact U.S. embassies for assistance, only for them to be met with busy signals or by harried staffers unable to offer help.
“These issues were predictable,” dozens of Democrats in Congress wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The lack of clear preparation, planning, and communication to Americans abroad is unacceptable and a violation of the State Department’s basic mission to provide consular assistance and the protection of U.S. citizens overseas."
U.S. officials — and President Donald Trump himself — have struggled to explain why the government was not better prepared for the consequences of Iranian retaliation and what messages to convey to Americans in the area.
"It happened all very quickly," Trump told reporters Tuesday.
Over the past few days, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan was evacuated because of the threat of an attack, the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait was struck by a drone, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia caught fire after it was hit by two Iranian drones, and a drone attack set the parking lot ablaze outside the U.S. Consulate in Dubai in the UAE.
At least six American service members have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. But there have been no reports of American civilian casualties.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back Wednesday against criticism that the administration should have done more to warn Americans and help those stuck overseas.
"There were many signs put out by the State Department,” Leavitt said.
She added that Rubio issued "Level 4 travel advisories dating back to January for many of these countries in the region."
That is the highest level, amounting to a "do not travel" warning. A handful of countries had that designation before the war, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
But it was only after the air campaign was launched over the weekend that the State Department issued Level 3 "reconsider travel" advisories for at least seven countries in the region: Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Cyprus.
The Defense Department said the military planned to aid the evacuation effort with C-17 cargo planes, and State Department officials said they are arranging charter flights to extract Americans from the war zone.
Late Wednesday, the State Department said on X that one such flight had departed the Middle East and was en route to the U.S.
Rubio told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. had organized flights for American citizens but that some countries had closed their airspace because of the Iranian aerial attacks.
“The challenge we are facing is airspace closures,” Rubio said, adding: “But rest assured, we are confident that we are going to be able to assist every American.”
As of Wednesday, the State Department said it had assisted nearly 6,500 Americans abroad, offering security guidance and travel help.
Current and former diplomats said the administration’s drastic cuts to the State Department’s workforce, as well as its failure to nominate ambassadors for several of the Arab countries affected by the crisis, had left the foreign service shorthanded at a moment when it needed seasoned veterans to manage a growing crisis.
“You’re hearing really mixed messaging from the White House,” a former senior State Department official said.
“When you don’t have the professionals that you would normally see, you don’t have confirmed ambassadors in post, you don’t have those direct connections 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 employees of the U.S, diplomatic corps, said the crisis “exposes real gaps in America’s diplomatic readiness” after the administration slashed the State Department workforce.
The association said it has “warned that the State Department’s capacity has been weakened by the loss of experienced personnel with critical regional, crisis management, consular, and language expertise, including specialists in Farsi and Arabic—skills that are indispensable in moments like this.”
Cody Greene, 36, an American from Tampa, Florida, was on a work trip to Dubai when the war broke out.
“It’s my son’s first birthday today. I promised my wife I’d be home in time — and look what’s happened,” Greene told NBC News on Wednesday.
He said he called a phone number the State Department released for Americans stranded in the Middle East but got no help.
“It was an automated line that told you that the U.S. has no plans to rescue you, and you need to make your own accommodations,” he said.
Added Greene: “I feel betrayed and left out to dry by my own government who started this whole thing without any plan in place to get their own people out."
