The United States has suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait as tensions escalate across the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, the State Department said.
The move marks the second US diplomatic mission to fully suspend operations since the war began, underscoring growing security concerns for American personnel and facilities across the region.
“The United States has suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait City,” the State Department said in a statement, adding that the decision comes amid the widening conflict involving Iran.
US officials said the suspension was taken as a precaution as Iran continues retaliatory strikes across the region.
“While there have been no reported injuries to US personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the US Department of State,” the department said in the statement.
Iran has fired missiles and drones toward US diplomatic facilities across the Middle East since the war began, prompting several embassies and consulates to close to the public.
Until Thursday, however, only the US consulate in Karachi had fully suspended operations.
Shortly before announcing the suspension, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kuwait’s foreign minister to offer condolences after Iranian retaliatory strikes killed at least two Kuwaiti troops.
The conflict, which erupted after sweeping US-Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend, has rapidly expanded across the region.
US RAMPS UP EVACUATION FLIGHTS
The State Department said it was expanding efforts to help Americans leave the Middle East as airspace closures and missile attacks disrupt travel.
The department confirmed that the first US government charter flight carrying Americans out of the region has already departed.
“At the direction of Secretary Rubio, Department of State charter flight and ground transportation operations are underway and will continue to ramp up,” Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said in a post on X.
A newly established task force has already assisted more than 10,000 Americans with guidance on evacuation and travel options, the department said.
American citizens in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel have been urged to complete a crisis intake form to receive information about upcoming charter flights and ground transportation.
The State Department had earlier advised US citizens across 14 countries in the Middle East to leave the region using available commercial transportation.
With inputs from agencies
