Washington: More than 32,000 US citizens have returned to the United States from the Middle East since the commencement of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran last Saturday, according to the State Department's announcement on Sunday.
According to Anadolu Agency, Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson noted that evacuation efforts are still ongoing despite an improvement in commercial flight availability in the region. Johnson shared on the US social media platform X, "While commercial flight availability across the region continues to improve, Department of State charter flight and ground transport operations continue to ramp up, as security conditions allow."
Johnson further mentioned that the reported figure does not account for Americans who have relocated to other countries or those who are still in transit. The evacuation operation is taking place as the US-Israeli attacks on Iran have entered their ninth day.
The strikes have reportedly resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These actions have prompted Iranian retaliatory drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and Gulf countries where US military assets are located. The escalation has also caused disruptions to air travel across certain parts of the Middle East.