More than 1,500 Americans have requested assistance to leave Middle Eastern countries as of this Tuesday following the start of the war, but the evacuation faces complications due to the collapse of airports and the closure of airspace, drawing criticism for the lack of planning by the administration of President Donald Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed to the media on Tuesday that between 1,500 and 1,600 Americans have requested help to be evacuated, assuring that it «will take a little time» to provide assistance due to the airspace closures announced by countries in the region. «If a country closes its airport, and in some cases the airports have been attacked, we can have the planes ready to take off, but we cannot make them land (in these countries) because we do not have the permits to do so,» Rubio responded to press questions about evacuation plans. The United States issued a warning on Monday in 14 countries in the region, including: Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, among others, for its citizens to evacuate immediately «while commercial flights still exist». Criticism for lack of planning The handling of the evacuations by the Trump administration has received various criticisms, such as that from former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who assured on her X account that asking Americans in Jerusalem to leave the country on their own is an «incredible betrayal». Additionally, the administration of President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the closure of its embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, amid the wave of Iranian attacks as retaliation for the large-scale operation launched by Washington in conjunction with Israel. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Andy Kim said on his X account that «warnings for citizens to evacuate three days after the start of this war, when the airspace is closed, are a clear sign of the zero strategy and planning» on the part of the Government. Airspace in much of the region remains closed, causing the suspension of operations at several key airports and leaving thousands of passengers stranded. According to Flightradar24 data, countries such as Iran, Israel, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Syria maintain their skies completely closed to civilian flights due to the escalation of the conflict, while others have imposed partial restrictions that further complicate evacuation corridors and commercial transit.
