Johnson Progress

The United States has closed its embassies in multiple Middle Eastern nations and ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel as regional tensions with Iran escalate into open conflict, with a direct drone attack on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia causing damage early Tuesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was struck by two drones, resulting in a fire and minor structural damage to the diplomatic compound.

According to a statement from the Saudi Defense Ministry, initial estimates confirmed the attack caused “a limited fire and minor material damage to the building,” with no casualties reported as the facility was empty at the time.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, with black smoke rising over the area where foreign missions are concentrated.

In response to the attack, the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia issued an urgent security alert.

The embassy stated on social media platform X that it has “issued a shelter in place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran and is limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region but we recommend American citizens in the Kingdom to shelter in place immediately.”

The diplomatic shutdown extends beyond Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait announced it is closed “until further notice,” suspending all consular services.

In a post on its X account, the embassy stated that “due to ongoing regional tensions, the US Embassy in Kuwait will be closed until further notice. We have cancelled all regular and emergency consular appointments.”

In Jordan, all personnel have temporarily departed the U.S. Embassy compound in Amman.

The embassy described the move in a statement as a precautionary measure “out of an abundance of caution” due to a specific security threat.

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate has urged residents living near the embassy to remain inside their homes until the threat is cleared.

The State Department has also ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and their families from Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Iraq.

In updated travel advisories posted on X, the department confirmed it had revised guidance for Bahrain and Jordan “to reflect the ordered departure of non-emergency US government personnel and family members of government personnel.”

For Iraq, the department ordered non-emergency government employees to leave due to security concerns, though it did not mention their relatives in that directive.

The scale of the U.S. government’s concern became fully apparent as the State Department issued a sweeping call for all American citizens to leave the region immediately.

Mora Namdar, Deputy Minister of Consular Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, addressed the seriousness of the situation directly.

Namdar urged, “Due to safety risks, U.S. nationals in these countries are urged to depart immediately using available commercial transportation.”

The travel alert applies to an expansive list of 14 countries and territories, including Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan, and Yemen.

The diplomatic measures follow the outbreak of major hostilities over the weekend.

The growing war began on Saturday after joint U.S. Israeli strikes on Iran that Tehran said killed dozens of civilians and the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sparking waves of retaliatory salvos .

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed responsibility for targeting a United States air base in Bahrain, with the Islamic Republic’s elite force stating the attack in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

Iranian state media has gone further, claiming a command and staff building at a U.S. air base in Bahrain has been destroyed.

A senior U.S. official signaled that the American response to these attacks may escalate significantly.

The official revealed that the U.S. is “preparing to significantly escalate attacks on Iran within 24 hours.”

The official added that the initial strike weakened Iran’s defenses and that the next phase would focus on destroying Iran’s missile production facilities, unmanned aerial capabilities, and naval assets.

President Donald Trump also signaled heightened aggression in a interview, stating, “We have not yet begun our strong attack. The big wave has not come yet. The big wave will come soon.”

The human cost of the conflict is already mounting.

Six U.S. service members have been killed since the war began.

In a tragic incident on Monday, three U.S. fighter jets were shot down in Kuwait in an “apparent friendly fire incident,” though the crews survived.

The U.S. State Department continues to monitor the fluid situation and is providing updates through official channels, urging Americans in the region to maintain personal safety plans, avoid demonstrations, and follow instructions from local authorities.