THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
As the conflict between Israel and Iran increases in intensity, conjecture is increasing that the United States will get involved in some way. As Israel and Iran have launched more attacks against each other, The Pentagon is deploying the USS Nimitz nuclear powered aircraft carrier and other ships to the Middle East, according to NBC News.
How this increase in tension in the Middle East will affect American living or traveling abroad is unclear, however the US government has issued advice that its citizens should not travel to the region. See below for contact details if you need assistance.
The travel advisories include Israel. On Monday June 16 the travel advisory for Israel was raised to Level 4, the maximum level, and the State Dept. warned U.S. citizens not to go there due to "armed conflict, terrorism and civil unrest."
Despite having said repeatedly that the United States would not intervene directly in the conflict, President Donald Trump today announced on his Truth Social channel, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” He added, “Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured “stuff.” Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.” He said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, is "an easy target" but that “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now."
In a press briefing yesterday (June 17), State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, “Over the past week, to help keep US citizens informed, we have issued more than 30 security alerts to countries in the region and updated the Travel Advisories for Iraq and Israel. We remind U.S. citizens not to travel to Israel or Iraq and not to travel to Iran under any circumstances. We continue to monitor the complex and rapidly evolving situation on the ground as we continue to assess and address the needs of U.S. citizens. We urge all U.S. citizens to regularly visit travel.state.gov for the latest Travel Advisories and security updates and to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, also known as STEP, to receive timely alerts and guidance from the State Department.”
For Americans needing assistance while abroad she advised they go to the department’s website at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html where there is a ‘red box’ marked “U.S. CITIZENS IN AN EMERGENCY”, or call +1-202-501-4444.