US Sows Confusion Urging Citizens to Flee Mideast Over War
Smoke plumes billow following Israeli bombardment on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 2.
Photographer: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images
A US State Department official urged Americans to leave countries across the Middle East as a result of the war with Iran, sparking confusion as people scrambled to figure out if the message represented formal US policy.
The questions began on Monday when Mora Namdar, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, posted to X that Americans should “DEPART NOW” using “available commercial transportation.”