US citizens urged to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries

The State Department urged Monday that all U.S. citizens leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to safety risks with the ongoing escalations that have slipped the region into significant chaos.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted on the social media site X that Americans in countries, including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel, should ‘‘DEPART NOW’’ using any available commercial transportation.

The guidance comes as some major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region as the war that began when U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.

The attacks have since grown into a wider regional conflict, touching nearly every country nearby.

Source: AP 
--Agencies