Americans ‘stuck’ in Middle East ‘outraged’ about ‘zero evacuation support’: Senate Democrat

As Americans in the Middle East attempt to evacuate amid the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) slammed the Trump administration for its handling of the situation. 

Kim wrote Tuesday on the social platform X that his office “is receiving panicked calls from Americans stuck in the Middle East, outraged that our government has provided zero evacuation support.”

The New Jersey Democrat called on the administration to “immediately develop a plan to get our citizens out of harms way, including by working with our allies and partners to secure transportation options for all Americans who wish to depart.”

As the operation against Iran continues into its fourth day, the State Department urged Americans on Tuesday to leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, citing “serious safety risks.”

The U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon are also closed. Iran has struck the embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as attacks have engulfed much of the region. 

The U.S. Embassy in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, was also hit by an Iranian drone Tuesday, according to The Hill’s sister network NewsNation. 

While commercial airspace in the Middle East remains mostly restricted, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson wrote on X Tuesday that the State Department “is actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East.”

Johnson added that the department has been in “direct contact” with nearly 3,000 Americans abroad and said U.S. citizens should call 1-202-501-4444 for assistance with departure options.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday also encouraged U.S. citizens and nationals in the region to enroll in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, which allows the department to “accurately and quickly contact them in case of emergency.”

But Kim, who worked at the State Department during the Obama administration, wrote on X earlier Tuesday that evacuation warnings “3 days into this war, when airspace is closed, is a clear sign of ZERO strategy and planning” by the current administration. 

“Now Americans have limited options to evacuate at an extremely dangerous moment with no government assistance. This administration is failing its citizens.”

President Trump, meanwhile, told reporters Tuesday there was no evacuation plan for Americans in the Middle East because strikes began “very quickly.”

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