US govt advises Americans to leave Mideast

• US embassies urge citizens to ‘consider departing’ the region• Iran says any country acting as US defensive shield will be engulfed by flames of war• Official insists Tehran planning for worst-case scenarios• 30 commercial vessels redirected by US naval blockade, says Centcom• Tanker struck by ‘unknown projectile’ off Oman; Kuwait destroys hostile drones• Houthis deny plans to impose fees on ships sailing through Red Sea TEHRAN: United States embassies in capitals across the Middle East urged Ame­rican citizens to beware of an “unforeseen escalation” in the regional conflict and asked them to be ready to leave on Saturday as Iran’s military accused the US of “escalating tensions” in the region and warned countries against cooperating with Washington. US embassies in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates posted the alerts online. “Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation,” said the security alert. The messages urged citizens to check flight details and to follow safety advice from local authorities. “Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” it said. Americans in Jordan were told not to visit US military bases there, which have recently come under Iranian missile att­ack, and in Israel they were urged to seek the location of the nearest bomb shelter. “The Iranian regime is unpredictable, as seen by its recent decisions to attack areas in the region without warning or provocations as well as to expand attacks to areas not previously targeted [such as Egypt],” said a post on the US Embassy Jerusalem site. The US embassy in Beirut said that the mission remained on “ordered departure status”, meaning that non-emergency US government personnel were still relocated outside of Lebanon. Iran’s warning “The United States is rapidly moving down the path of escalating tensions in the region,” said Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s military central command. “Any country serving as a defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war,” he said in a statement read on state television. The remarks came after US President Donald Trump reiterated threats to hit Iran “very hard”. US media reported he was considering renewed heavy attacks as soon as this weekend, including against energy infrastructure targets.

This week, Iran and the US resumed overnight exchanges of fire after a days-long lull in fighting although there were no reported strikes overnight Friday to Saturday. Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, also warned against any attacks on Iranian infrastructure. “You calculate through military equations, but we respond with the logic of history,” he wrote on X. “Attacking Iran’s infrastructure directly awakens the fault lines on which 250 years of your hegemonic architecture have been built.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the Iranian people as “heroes” for enduring the US-Israeli war on the country, Al Jazeera reported. Despite having endured “wars, pressure, and relentless hostilities”, Pezeshkian wrote on X, “The future of Iran will be shaped by the people of Iran.”

Separately, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying that the country was preparing supplies for the next two years, without elaborating on the types of supplies, Al Jazeera reported. The official said maintaining peace among the people would continue to be the main priority and that the government was planning “even for the worst conditions”. Kuwait ‘destroys hostile drones’ On Wednesday a drone struck a US-owned gas vessel moored in an Egyptian port, causing a fire. Egypt is investigating but has not yet accused any group of launching the attack. Meanwhile an “unknown projectile” struck a tanker off the coast of Oman, a British maritime agency said on Saturday, as the United States and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait’s army also said on Saturday it had detected and destroyed hostile drones in the country’s airspace since dawn, and that what it described as an Iranian attack had targeted several vital facilities. A government facility in northern Kuwait and civilian property belonging to a company on Bubiyan Island were hit, it said, adding that falling shrapnel caused material damage but no casualties. Iran has effectively maintained control over navigation through Hormuz since the outbreak of the war, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway. Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler said on Friday that traffic through the Hormuz strait has dropped “sharply”. US Central Command (Centcom) said that as part of the naval blockade of Iranian ports, American forces have redirected 30 commercial vessels, boarded two and disabled two others.

Meanwhile, a merchant vessel safely passed through the Red Sea under the protection of the Italian frigate Bergamini, the European Union naval mission ASPIDES said on Saturday. ASPIDES, the EU’s defensive maritime security operation in the Red Sea, did not identify the vessel or disclose its flag, ownership or cargo details. Houthis deny plans to impose fees Separately, Yemen’s Houthi-run maritime coordination body denied on Saturday that it planned to impose fees on commercial ships transiting the Bab al-Mandeb strait, saying no such decision had been taken and that passage through the strategic waterway remained free. The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC) said its “safe transit service was a voluntary and cost-free service”. “The HOCC categorically confirms that any individual or entity requesting the payment of money in exchange for transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait does not represent the Republic of Yemen or HOCC in any capacity whatsoever,” it said in a statement. “The HOCC urges shipping companies not to make any payments or provide any information to unauthorized individuals or entities,” it said. Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026