HIBAPRESS – W.M.A
The US State Department announced on Thursday that approximately 20,000 American citizens have returned to the United States "safely" from the Middle East since the start of the American attack on Iran.
The Ministry explained in a statement that this number "does not include a large group of Americans who have safely fled to other countries, or those who have left the Middle East, but are still on their way back to the United States." The same source added that air and land transport operations provided by the State Department "are moving forward at an increasing pace," with additional flights and additional land transport operations expected on Thursday. In this regard, it pointed out that "the ministry has developed a special crisis registration form for the benefit of American citizens in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel." The State Department highlighted that by filling out this form, American citizens in these countries will receive direct information about upcoming flights and land transport options. According to the statement: "Thanks to the State Department's Crisis Management Cell, which operates around the clock, we have been able to assist more than 10,000 Americans abroad, by providing them with security advice and travel assistance," adding that the US State Department "will continue to provide assistance to any American citizen abroad who wishes to leave the Middle East." The United States has closed several of its embassies in the region and had recalled non-essential staff and their relatives after Iranian missile or drone strikes. Governments and airlines are organizing flights to evacuate passengers stranded in the Middle East, after 19,000 flights were cancelled in four days, with commercial aircraft resuming flights in small numbers since last Tuesday.
