The US State Department has once again issued a travel advisory, warning its citizens against travelling to the Middle East and those already in the region to “consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation.”
The warning was issued on Saturday as Washington weighs the options of launching new strikes on Iran. CNN, quoting White House Sources, reports that the US is planning fresh strikes on Iran this weekend. However, the precise scope of the bombing remains unclear, and could still be called off. President Donald Trump also floated the idea on Friday, saying that “we’ll be hitting them very hard.”
The State Department, in a statement on X, urged Americans in the Middle East to “exercise caution and heightened vigilance.”
It also asked them to be “prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions.”
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“US citizens planning to travel to the Middle East should seriously reconsider, ” the advisory said.
The US issued a similar warning two weeks ago during its 13-day strike exchange with Iran. On the day the State Department issued the warning, explosions were reported in Iran and then the Gulf states, which have been on the receiving end of Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.
On Saturday, the Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, praised the Iranian people for enduring the US-Israeli war. He described the citizens as heroes.
Meanwhile, the Iranian army has declared that US actions against Iran increasingly risk igniting widespread regional conflict.
Al Jazeera reports that a top Iranian military commander warned regional countries against being “consumed by the flames of war.”
Also on Saturday, Yemen’s Houthis disclosed that they forced eight Saudi ships to change course in the Red Sea. They, however, did not provide much detail of the incidents.
The Houthis have announced a naval blockade of Saudi vessels in retaliation for what they say is the Saudi blockade of the Yemeni airport in Sanaa.
They, however, denied that they are planning to charge ships for passing through the Red Sea, a move that could further disrupt the global energy market.
The group insisted that passage through the waterway remains free.