By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers slammed the State Department on Tuesday for urging U.S. citizens in the Middle East to evacuate three days after the U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran started and when air travel is severely disrupted, saying it was a sign of lack of proper planning.
On Monday, the Department urged Americans across 16 countries in the Middle East to immediately depart the region using "available commercial transportation" without offering any U.S.-government-vouched means. The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in a statement said it was unable to offer assistance to Americans trying to leave.
"American tax payers are forced to give Israel $3.8 BILLION every single year, and here is our own U.S. embassy in Jerusalem telling Americans good luck getting out, you are on your own," Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress after a split with Trump, said.
"The betrayal is unbelievable," Greene, a Republican who has long advocated against U.S. involvement in foreign wars, said.
U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran, which started on Saturday, has already sent shockwaves around the world, disrupting energy supplies and sending global air transport into chaos. Overnight, Iranian drones struck the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia.
Major Gulf aviation hubs, including the world's busiest international airport, Dubai - which normally handles over 1,000 flights a day - remained closed for a fourth day on Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded. Ticket prices have soared.
"Warnings to citizens to evacuate 3 days into this war, when airspace is closed, is a clear sign of ZERO strategy and planning by the Trump admin," Democratic Senator Andy Kim said in a post on X.
"Now Americans have limited options to evacuate at an extremely dangerous moment with no government assistance. This administration is failing its citizens," Kim added.
The State Department did not immediately respond to questions on how exactly Americans should be departing in the absence of available commercial flights or whether Washington was planning evacuation flights.
On Monday, a U.S. official said the department activated an inter-agency task force to manage the situation and had launched a dedicated WhatsApp channel, which it said has amassed 15,000 followers. It did not mention any government assistance for evacuation of citizens.
"So the State Department is forcing everyone to immediately leave the region but is also refusing to help people leave the region," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said in an X post. "Incompetence everywhere," he added.
Congressman Ted Lieu from California urged the administration to schedule U.S. government evacuation flights for the stranded Americans.
Crude oil benchmarks rose about 7% on Tuesday, soaring for a third session as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran widened. In a social media post overnight, Trump said there was a "virtually unlimited supply" of U.S. munitions and that "wars can be fought "forever," and very successfully, using just these supplies."
CAN'T GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY
As Washington presses ahead with one of the most consequential military actions in recent history, the United States lacks Senate-confirmed ambassadors across many countries in the region including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Algeria and the UAE.
"The U.S. Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel," the embassy said in an X post and said citizens can sign up to the shuttles being operated by Israeli Ministry of Tourism to the Taba border crossing with Egypt.
It reiterated that Washington cannot ensure the safety of this route. "The U.S. Embassy cannot make any recommendation (for or against) the Ministry of Tourism’s shuttle. If you choose to avail yourself of this option to depart, the U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety," it said.
It is not immediately clear how many American and dual citizens are based in the region. The State Department urges its nationals to sign up with its database when they are abroad.
On Tuesday, the Department also announced that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their family members from U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan. Similar measures have already been taken for U.S. missions in Lebanon and Israel.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk additional reporting by Simon Lewis, Editing by Franklin Paul)
