US citizens: Trump had no 'backup' plan to help them leave Middle East after Iran strike [View all]

(Guardian) US citizens living in the Middle East say they’re “angry” at the US state department, criticising the Trump administration for having no “backup plan” to help them leave the region in the hours and days after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.

One person, whose family voted for Trump for his anti-war stance, said she felt “betrayed” and what she perceived as the treatment of US citizens as “an afterthought”.

A state department official said: “Through the department’s Task Force, we have directly provided security guidance and travel assistance to about 32,000 impacted Americans. Most ​Americans who have ​requested assistance have ⁠declined seats when offered, opting to remain in [the] country or take commercial flight options.”

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It took two more days before US citizens were issued a form to request assistance to get out of the region which she filled out. Three days after that, the US state department began “reaching out to people”, saying they would get people on flights.

“It’s wild that a government that starts a war would then wait days into the war to start repatriating everyday citizens,” she says. ..................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/16/us-citizens-middle-east-iran-war