The United States government has issued a stark warning to its citizens across the Middle East, urging them to prepare for potential escalation in the region following recent reports of increased tensions and potential military action by both sides. This alert, released amidst ongoing US media coverage of President Donald Trump’s planned new strikes on Iran, underscores a heightened state of alert within the region. The State Department has repeatedly emphasized the importance of vigilance and preparedness, stating that US diplomatic facilities, including those outside the Middle East, have been targeted. Iran and its supporters are reportedly targeting other US interests, including those associated with the United States and American citizens throughout the world, according to reports from Iranian media outlets. Tehran has accused the US of escalating tensions, characterizing any regional state cooperation with Washington as ‘engulfed by the flames of war.’
In its security alert, issued on Saturday, the State Department stated that Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance. The alert also advises potential travelers to consider departing or preparing to depart from the region should escalation occur. Specifically, the state department has urged Americans outside the Middle East to seriously reconsider travel to and through the region, citing potential disruptions to travel and airspace. The US embassies across the Middle East, including those in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have also reposted the alert, warning of a ‘potential escalation’ and advising American nationals to take protective measures.
The US and Israel have been planning a series of particularly harsh bombing campaigns against Iran’s energy infrastructure targets, according to multiple sources, including CBS News and the BBC’s media partner in America. The US Central Command (Centcom) reported that they had completed a ‘heavy wave’ of strikes against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in response to Tuesday’s attempted ballistic missile attacks on American forces. The US Military stated that Centcom had hit ‘dozens’ of Iran’s IRGC targets in response to the attacks. The Iranian state media reported that three people – including a two-year-old child – were killed in the US strikes. The conflict expanded this week after a period of relative calm, with the US and Saudi Arabia launching joint strikes targeting Iranian proxies in Iraq. Washington and Tehran have engaged in escalating strikes and counter-strikes since a ceasefire in April, aimed at pausing the months-long war. The US has blockaded Iranian ports and bombed Iranian sites, while Iran has fired missiles and drones at US assets in countries across the Middle East and targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route. The US and Israel began launching their strikes against Iran on February 28th. The US has stated that it has blockaded Iranian ports and bombed Iranian sites, while Iran has fired missiles and drones at US assets in countries across the Middle East and targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a global oil shipping route. The conflict escalated this week following a series of days of relative calm, with the first publicly announced joint US-Saudi strikes targeting Iranian proxies in Iraq. The US and Iran have engaged in escalating strikes and counter-strikes since April.
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Source: BBC News
