Conferences punctuated by the blare of incoming missile alerts. Emergency passports handed off at clandestine areas. A convoy carrying 19 pets over worldwide borders to security.
Within the month because the U.S. and Israel initiated strikes in opposition to Iran, enterprise for the 1000’s of U.S. diplomats stationed throughout the Center East has been something however as ordinary. With their embassies and houses below hearth from Iran’s relentless retaliation, these officers have been charged with orchestrating a mass exodus by a struggle zone on a never-before-seen scale.
Via airspace closures and below close to fixed danger of drone and missile assault, the State Division oversaw the evacuation of roughly 4,000 of its personal personnel and their relations from diplomatic missions whereas serving to greater than 50,000 non-public U.S. residents flee the area in the course of the preliminary weeks of the struggle, in keeping with inner figures from the division that haven’t been publicly shared earlier than.
A plume of smoke rises over buildings in Doha on March 5, 2026. A number of rounds of explosions echoed over Doha on March 5 simply hours after officers mentioned they have been evacuating residents dwelling close to the US embassy.
Mahmud Hams/AFP through Getty Photos
ABC Information spoke with six senior State Division officers within the Center East and Washington who shared their accounts of working to deliver their colleagues and countrymen again residence in the course of the outbreak of the struggle.
“I do not suppose anybody may have predicted the size”
On the subject of the safety of its embassies, the State Division is engaged in near-constant contingency planning. Nonetheless, a number of officers described the scope of Iran’s retaliatory assaults focusing on U.S. pursuits in Gulf nations as unprecedented.
Within the days earlier than the battle started, posts throughout the Center East held emergency conferences to evaluate their safety postures, however solely two U.S. embassies within the Center East had made important modifications: the U.S. mission to Lebanon ordered all non-emergency staff and relations of employees to go away the nation slightly over every week earlier than the assaults began, whereas the American embassy in Israel gave those self same teams authorization to depart roughly 24 earlier than the primary U.S. strikes.
On the morning of Feb. 28, State Division personnel in Washington and on the majority of embassies within the Center East have been watching and ready.
“We have been all monitoring that one thing may occur. We have been watching the negotiations actually, intently,” a senior official primarily based in Washington whose portfolio contains managing the U.S. relationship with a number of Gulf states mentioned. “We had seen the army buildup, which, in fact, meant the president had choices.”
One other senior official stationed on the U.S. embassy in Abu Dhabi recalled that planning for what to do if the embassy got here below assault had began “extra in earnest” after Iran launched missiles on the Al Udeid Air Base close to Doha in Qatar in the course of the 12 Day Struggle in June after the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear services. The Iranian assault brought about minimal injury and casualties, nevertheless it had made clear that Tehran may strike at its Gulf neighbors in response to U.S. army motion.
A second senior official understanding of the identical embassy mentioned employees had ready for a spread of eventualities, however that the UAE’s iconic skyscrapers posed distinctive challenges.
U.S. embassy personnel examine the injury attributable to a bombing in Baghdad, Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Hadi Mizban/AP
“Not like Israel or different nations which can be used to [strikes], the UAE would not actually have bunkers inbuilt place,” they mentioned. “Loads of us dwell in towers the place we’re absolutely surrounded by glass. We mentioned forward of time, primarily based on the planning, the place can be essentially the most applicable location to go.”
From the primary hours of the struggle, the UAE bore the brunt of Tehran’s wrath. The nation’s protection ministry reviews that as of late March, it has efficiently intercepted practically 400 missiles and over 1,800 drone strikes from Iran. However some assaults have hit their targets — killing 11 folks and injuring greater than 170 others. The U.S. consulate in Dubai was broken by a suspected drone strike within the early days of the struggle, however no accidents or fatalities have been reported.
“I do not suppose anybody, together with the UAE, may have predicted the size by which Iran would goal the UAE, as a result of, forward of February twenty eighth, senior UAE officers have been in Iran having discussions with Tehran in regards to the negotiations [with the U.S.]. That they had relations with Tehran,” the senior official mentioned. “So whereas we have now these discussions and ready as a lot as we may — and we have now to be prepared for all eventualities — I believe the size of it, the best way Iran focused the UAE, was one thing that was not essentially anticipated to this degree.”
And it wasn’t solely the UAE that was on the receiving finish of Tehran’s strikes. Within the first 24 hours of the struggle, Iran hit targets in 9 nations. By the tip of the primary week, 15 nations have been pulled into the battle.
“I believe the size this time is definitely better than what we have handled prior to now,” a senior official primarily based Washington who oversees the safety administration of a number of posts within the area mentioned. “We now have make sure that we have now a plan it doesn’t matter what occurs, particularly in a state of affairs the place plenty of issues occur on the similar time.”
Smoke and hearth rise throughout reported drone and rocket strikes on the U.S. embassy, in keeping with Iraqi safety sources, in Baghdad on this nonetheless picture obtained from a social media video launched on March 17, 2026.
Social Media/through Reuters
“We have been all working collectively to advance the mission”
It was 10:03 within the morning on Saturday, Feb. 28, when the primary incoming missile alert sounded in Bahrain. By 11, the primary assembly on potential evacuations on the U.S. embassy in Manama had already concluded and plans have been flying into place.
A senior official at that embassy whose work usually facilities on monetary administration mentioned that from the beginning, it was all arms on deck.
“I wasn’t doing simply finance. IT wasn’t doing simply IT. We have been all working collectively to advance the mission, which was to get all people out safely,” they mentioned.
The primary convoy carrying 22 folks, largely relations of staff, left the following day for Saudi Arabia, the place staff of the U.S. mission there helped organize their onward journey.
Officers on the embassy in Manama continued operating convoys and making certain everybody had visas required to cross the border till Thursday of that week, when the ultimate eight folks and 19 pets left to be evacuated have been boarded onto autos and shuttled out of Bahrain.
“It took time, as a result of there have been plenty of us, nevertheless it was simply fixed communication and collaboration,” the official mentioned.
Evacuating an embassy is an enterprise, however U.S. officers throughout the area have been additionally confronted with serving to tens of 1000’s of normal Americans navigate airspace closures and altering safety environments to discover a protected route residence.
Within the UAE, State Division officers in nation labored with colleagues again in Washington to fill the restricted variety of business flights that have been nonetheless leaving the nation and arrange constitution choices.
Finally, the division organized greater than 60 evacuation flights from the Center East, however within the earliest days of the battle American officers even secured seats for personal residents on authorities planes.
The US embassy headquarters in Riyadh is pictured on March 3, 2026, after it was hit by drone strikes earlier. Iran hit again at industrial and diplomatic targets throughout the Center East on March 3, with Washington warning its residents to evacuate the whole area.
AFP through Getty Photos
“On our first flight for U.S. authorities staff, we had about 20 to 25 seats obtainable to U.S. residents. So we contacted of us who had already messaged the embassy expressing a want to get out and we have been in a position to accommodate all these vacationers as properly,” one of many senior officers on the Abu Dhabi embassy mentioned.
That official, together with a whole lot of different division staff, additionally spent hours speaking one-on-one with Individuals attempting to chart a means out of the battle zone, offering them with essentially the most up-to-date steering obtainable.
“I keep in mind one telephone name that I had with a lady. She was scared to depart,” the official recalled, saying they inspired her drive two hours by the darkish desert to succeed in the airport for a morning flight together with her younger little one.
“Nothing can absolutely put together you for serving to Individuals throughout a time of struggle,” they mentioned. “I spent plenty of time together with her on the telephone, attempting to persuade her that it was a superb possibility for her, and I used to be actually glad to see her within the morning she had determined to take the flight. I used to be very joyful to shake her hand. And I believe for a consular officer, there is not any better thanks than serving to Americans get to security.”
“An ongoing effort”
Whereas the State Division has scaled down its departure choices for Individuals within the Center East on account of dwindling demand, groups in Washington are nonetheless working to deliver embassy personnel and U.S. residents out of the area.
“We’re persevering with to coordinate flights for Americans which can be needing to depart from areas the place we shouldn’t have business flight availability,” a senior official mentioned. “We’re nonetheless efforts to proceed to deliver out Chief of Mission personnel from areas, in order that it is an ongoing effort.”
Thus far, solely the U.S. embassy in Kuwait Metropolis has absolutely suspended operations. However as a result of different American diplomatic services within the Center East are nonetheless being focused, the State Division has needed to change the way it gives providers to U.S. residents — together with in relation to supplying them with emergency journey paperwork.
“We needed to devise kind of alternate plan to print passports, after which additionally discover locations to cross these passports again to U.S. residents,” a senior official primarily based within the UAE mentioned. “We now have used — and that is delicate info — however pleasant embassies or additionally different non-public areas as a protected assembly factors.”
Though embassy personnel are actually unfold throughout time zones, officers say they’re nonetheless working to deal with different challenges stemming from the battle — together with vitality shortages and renewed preventing between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We have form of shortly transitioned to this hybrid system,” mentioned one senior official nonetheless working inside Lebanon. “It is meant that we have been in a position to proceed the vital work of the embassy regardless of the upheaval, although individuals are in two completely different areas.”
