The United States Department of State has announced sweeping security measures across several Middle Eastern and South Asian missions, temporarily shutting down embassies and suspending consular services amid escalating regional tensions from the Iran conflict.
In Kuwait, the U.S. Embassy confirmed it would cease operations “until further notice,” citing ongoing instability in the region.
The diplomatic mission said all routine and emergency consular appointments had been canceled and that updates would be provided once normal services resume.
The move comes after a series of deadly incidents in Kuwait, including the deaths of six American troops and the crash of three U.S. fighter jets in what the U.S. military described as an “apparent friendly fire” episode.
In neighbouring Iraq, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad ordered nonemergency government employees to leave the country due to security concerns.
The mission also barred American personnel from using Baghdad’s international airport, pointing to unspecified threats.
The travel advisory for Iraq has been updated to reflect the deteriorating situation.
State Department official Mora Namdar earlier urged American citizens in more than a dozen countries to depart immediately using available commercial flights “due to serious safety risks”.
The affected countries include Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
