Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday that the State Department has successfully assisted 9,000 Americans in leaving the Middle East over the last 72 hours. Speaking to reporters, Rubio confirmed that approximately 1,500 additional citizens have requested help with departures as regional instability climbs.
The Secretary described a complex evacuation effort involving charter flights, military transports, and expanded commercial options. However, he noted that ground realities are complicating the mission. “The impediment we’re facing now, in many cases – we’ve had a couple instances in which we have planes in the air and on the way, and unfortunately the airspace gets closed and they have to turn back around,” Rubio said.
He urged Americans remaining in the region to register via official websites and phone numbers so the government can coordinate their exit through air or land routes.
The briefing also addressed a recent security incident in the United Arab Emirates. Rubio confirmed reports that a drone struck a parking lot adjacent to the U.S. consulate’s chancellery building in Dubai, sparking a fire. He stated that all personnel are accounted for and noted that the U.S. had already begun drawing down staff to “bare bones” levels at several high-risk posts, including Beirut, Baghdad, and Erbil.
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Regarding military operations, Rubio stated that the U.S. and its allies are engaged in a “systematic destruction” of Iran’s military infrastructure. He detailed that CENTCOM is targeting Iran’s “missile belt,” launch sites, production facilities, and naval assets.
Rubio emphasized that the primary objective is ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. “We will not allow Iran to hide behind the immunity of a massive short-term ballistic missile inventory,” the Secretary said. He added that the Department of War reports the operation is currently “on or ahead of schedule.”
Rubio faced sharp questions from the press gallery regarding the timing of the strikes and whether the U.S. was acting at the behest of Israel. He denied that Israel dictated the timeline, asserting that President Trump made a sovereign decision to strike first to prevent American casualties.
“The President determined we were not going to get hit first,” Rubio said. “If you tell the President of the United States that if we don’t go first we’re going to have more people killed and more people injured, the President’s going to go first.”
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The Secretary dismissed concerns regarding the War Powers Act, stating the administration has “over-complied” with legal requirements by notifying the Gang of Eight and providing frequent briefings to Congress. He maintained that the strikes were a necessary response to an “untenable” threat.
Looking ahead, Rubio warned of an imminent increase in military pressure. “You’re going to really begin to perceive a change in the scope and in the intensity of these attacks, as, frankly, the two most powerful air forces in the world take apart this terroristic regime and defang it,” he said.
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