The Trump administration has been slammed for leaving thousands of Americans stranded in the Middle East with no U.S. government assistance after the president’s war on Iran.
Late Monday, the U.S. State Department urged citizens to immediately evacuate from 14 countries as Trump’s Saturday military assault on Iran has led to further retaliatory attacks across the Middle East.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that around 1,500 Americans stuck in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have asked for assistance to get home. He added that around 9,000 have been able to leave since the war started.
A statement from his department said it has “answered calls from nearly 3,000 American citizens in the Middle East and continues to provide travel options for those wishing to leave.”
Rubio said his department is assessing “military fight options” and attempting to charter commercial flights to return them to the U.S.
However, on Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem warned they are “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist” Americans leaving the country.
U.S. embassies in Kuwait, Lebanon and Riyadh have been closed, while the Dubai consulate was struck by a drone.
The embassy in Jerusalem offered information for Americans to “make your own security plans,” including a shuttle service from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism it said that it could not recommend “for or against.”
“If you choose to avail yourself of this option to depart, the U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety,” the post read.
Dem Rep. Ilhan Omar was among those to voice their criticism at the Trump administration, responding to a post from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“You all should have had a plan in place before you started a war,” Omar said. “The only guidance Americans have gotten is find your own way home.”
Leavitt had posted on X that, “The United States State Department is actively working on plans to help Americans in the Middle East return home.” She added details of the MyTravelGov website.
On CNN, Anderson Cooper aired the recorded message Americans hear when they call the State Department hotline that Rubio has urged people to use.
“Please do not rely on the U.S. Government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time,” the message states. “There are currently no United States evacuation points... In the event of ongoing military action, Americans should shelter in place until it is safe to move about freely.”
Democrat Andy Kim posted on X after leaving a classified briefing with Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, noting he fears the attacks are “going to put even more Americans’ lives at risk.”
The New Jersey senator said his office has received a “barrage of calls and emails from panicked Americans throughout the Middle East and their families.”
Kim said when he directly raised the issue of assisting Americans in the Middle East with Rubio, “they showed to me that they did not do the planning ahead of time to be there for the protection of Americans.”
CNN’s Erin Burnett, on the ground in Tel Aviv, called the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem statement a, “Hey, you’re on your own note.”
The CNN host aired footage of herself and her guest, Dan Diker, the president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, evacuating live on camera while sirens wailed.
CNN’s International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson said the U.S. embassies being targeted by Iran is “putting the United States in this invidious position of being questioned ‘Didn‘t you get people out earlier?’”
Trump has defended his strikes consistently, claiming they were designed to make sure Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons and curtailing their ability to fund global terrorism. His claims justifying the attacks however, continue to be criticized.
Vice President JD Vance broke cover on Monday night to defend Trump’s claim the strikes were to wipe out Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Other Republicans have defended the Trump administration as the war rages.
In a briefing with senators, Sen. John Hoeven said that Sen. Rubio was “really good at going through the work they’re doing to get civilians out of the region, and people that work for the State Department.” “Anyone you know that is still in the region and looking to get out, they need to register with the State Department, and they’re sending in flights to take them out,” Hoeven said.
Sen. Tim Sheehy defended the administration’s response, claiming had the U.S. ordered an evacuation up front, which would have been an immediate sign the attack was coming.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismissed a question on whether the Trump administration had botched efforts to get Americans home, but said he expected a surge in the effort to get people out moving forward.
The Daily Beast has contacted the State Department and White House for comment.
