The United States government has left thousands of citizens overseas facing escalating danger with limited direct evacuation support after dramatic military strikes on Iran triggered widespread regional retaliation.
Tensions skyrocketed earlier this week when the United States and its ally Israel launched major military operations against Iranian military infrastructure, dramatically intensifying conflict across the Middle East and prompting Iranian missile and drone attacks on diplomatic facilities and allied states. In the face of this violence, thousands of American nationals now living or travelling abroad have been urged to leave host countries, but official evacuation assistance from the US Embassy and the State Department remains sparse, sporadic and chaotic.
