The United States has activated a 24/7 inter-agency task force, bringing together experts in consular affairs, citizen safety, and diplomatic security over the ongoing crisis in West Asia. The task force is operating from a dedicated operations centre in Washington, where a crisis communications team is holding daily coordination calls with more than 110 inter-agency participants and affected embassies.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a video message, has urged Americans to leave major parts of the Middle East immediately, warning of serious safety risks as tensions escalate across the region. In a related development, US Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said the State Department urges Americans to depart now from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks.

The advisory covers Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The warning follows the onset of hostilities between the United States and Iran.