The US Department of State on Monday urged Americans to immediately depart more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, including Israel.
The advisory was issued amid the continuation of US and Israeli strikes against Iran.
Americans are urged to depart Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, said the State Department’s assistant secretary for consular affairs.
“Depart now via commercial means due to serious safety risks," said a new security update issued by the State Department.
Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned "the hardest hits are yet to come" for Iran, signaling a more forceful phase in US military operations.
Speaking from the Capitol, Rubio stressed that the campaign would continue until Iran's missile and naval capabilities are fully neutralized.
Although Rubio did not provide specifics on the timeline, he emphasized that the US had clear objectives in its sights and would press forward until those goals were met. "I don't know how long it will take," he said, "but we will do this as long as it takes to achieve those objectives and we will achieve those objectives. The world will be a safer place when we're done with this operation."