What Western countries are doing to help their citizens in the Middle East

As the effects of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran spread across the Middle East, major Western countries are scrambling to make arrangements for getting their citizens out of the region.

Iran’s retaliation targeting U.S. bases around the Middle East, Israel’s expansion of the war into Lebanon and the closure of airspace and airports around the region have created challenges for people trying to heed the advice of their governments to leave.

Here is what some countries are doing to assist their citizens in the Middle East:

United States

The country that jointly launched the war appears to be scrambling just as much as the others.

The Trump administration faced criticism on Tuesday over its plans for keeping Americans safe after the U.S. told its citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East but did not offer transportation.

The top U.S. diplomat in Israel told Americans the best way to leave the country was to take a bus to Egypt.

“The U.S. Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee wrote in a social media post.

He said the options for leaving Israel were “VERY LIMITED” and added, “Praying [for] your safe passage!”

At the White House on Tuesday, a reporter asked U.S. President Donald Trump why there wasn’t an evacuation plan.

“Well, because it happened all very quickly,” Trump responded, despite the fact that the U.S. military buildup leading to the strikes on Iran took place over the course of weeks.

‘Actively securing’ aircraft

Administration officials have since been trying to clean up the communications and show that the U.S. has a plan to get citizens out.

“The State Department is actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East,” assistant secretary of state Dylan Johnson said in a post on X about an hour after Trump spoke.

In a news release, the State Department went into more detail, saying it is facilitating charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan for American citizens.

“For those in countries lacking commercial aviation availability, the department is facilitating travel to third countries as conditions allow. That includes increasing ground transportation options for American citizens wishing to leave Israel,” the news release said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that about 1,500 Americans have requested U.S. government help with leaving the Middle East, but he said airport and airspace closures are posing a challenge.

“If an airport has been attacked or the airspace is closed, then we can have the planes lined up to go, but we can’t get them to land because we don’t have the permissions,” Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill.

“But rest assured, we are confident that we are going to be able to assist every American,” he said.

Canada

Global Affairs Canada says more than 97,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents are registered in the Middle East. The largest populations are in the U.A.E. (around 25,000) and Lebanon (around 23,000).

The federal agency says there is little it can do currently to help Canadians leave the region.

“Prepare contingency plans that don’t rely on the Government of Canada’s assistance for departure,” Global Affairs currently says on its travel advisories for countries around the Middle East.

However, Ottawa says it has secured a limited number of seats — to be allocated on a “first-come, first-served basis” — on a Wednesday commercial flight from Beirut to Istanbul. 

The Canadian Embassy in Israel mentioned bus travel to Egypt as an option for Canadian citizens to to leave but said it “cannot make any recommendation” either for or against that method of transportation.

“Given the situation in the region, sheltering in place may be your safest option. If you wish to leave, make sure you can do so safely,” the embassy said in a post on X.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says safety for Canadians in the region is the government’s “top priority.”

During an event in Toronto on Tuesday, Anand said she has asked the government of Oman for use of the country’s airspace “if necessary” to help Canadian citizens get out of the Middle East.

France

Nearly 400,000 French citizens are currently in the Middle East, says French President Emmanuel Macron.

“We are organizing the repatriation of those who wish to return, starting with the most vulnerable,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday. He said the first two flights would arrive in Paris on Tuesday night.

U.K.

More than 130,000 British citizens have registered with the government, U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Cooper said a charter flight would depart Oman in the coming days with “vulnerable” Britons given priority.