KABUL: As Iran intensifies strikes on U.S.-linked targets and bases, the White House says evacuation efforts for American citizens in the Middle East have been ramped up.
Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson, announced on X early Wednesday that evacuation operations have accelerated in recent days.
According to Leavitt, approximately 9,000 U.S. citizens have been successfully evacuated from Middle Eastern countries and transported back to the United States.
“The U.S. Department of State is undertaking a historic effort to assist American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East and return to the United States,” she wrote.
Leavitt added that 300 of those evacuated were brought out of Israel.
Previously, the U.S. Secretary of State had stated that another 1,600 American citizens in the region had requested assistance for evacuation