US says it is facilitating Mideast charter flights for Americans amid criticism over Iran

By Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it has started facilitating charter flights from a number of countries in the Middle East for U.S. citizens stranded in the region as Washington's joint military strikes with Israel on Iran have severely disrupted global air travel.

The move came four days after the U.S.-Israeli air war on Iran began, prompting heavy criticism from U.S. lawmakers that the State Department was late in warning Americans to leave the region and that this showed poor planning and “incompetence.”

"The Department is facilitating charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan for American citizens, and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow," the Department said in a statement.

Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson also said the Department was "actively securing military aircraft" for Americans who wished to leave the Middle East but did not elaborate.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were about 1,500 U.S. citizens who requested assistance with departure and that the Department was working to identify charter flights and military flight options while speaking with airlines to send bigger airplanes with more seats.

On Monday, the Department urged Americans across 14 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, although an official later said assistance was being offered.

The scramble has triggered accusations and criticism from U.S. lawmakers.

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees State Department spending, told Reuters: "President Trump said the biggest surprise is that Iran retaliated against our assets and partners, but that expected retaliation was the administration's stated reason for our attack. The result is that Americans are stuck and in danger."

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office earlier on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said: "It all happened very quickly," referring to the war with Iran, when asked why there were no plans to evacuate U.S. citizens.

"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 Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress after a split with Trump, said in a social media post.

"The betrayal is unbelievable," she said.

'ZERO STRATEGY'

The U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran, which started on Saturday, has sent shock waves 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.

U.S. security alerts for Americans in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and Bahrain, which urged them either to shelter in place or be prepared to do so, were disseminated after the U.S.-Israeli joint strikes on Iran began, according to time stamps on social media posts by the U.S. embassies in those countries.

U.S. evacuation orders and warnings for Americans and diplomatic staff across the Middle East were issued just before or days after the attack on Iran, compared with the weeks of notice given ahead of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Crude oil benchmarks rose about 6% on Tuesday, soaring as the Iran conflict 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."

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.

'CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY'

In a social media post, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said citizens can sign up for the shuttles operated by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism to the Taba border crossing with Egypt but reiterated that Washington could not 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.

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 UAE, Kuwait and Jordan. Similar measures have already been taken for U.S. missions in Lebanon and Israel.