The US has told its citizens to be ready to flee the Middle East after Donald Trump’s latest threat to attack Iran. The State Department issued a new advisory for 10 countries: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt.
It urged Americans in the region to “exercise heightened vigilance” and “be prepared to depart should there be escalation”, as well as “flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions”. It added: “The Iranian regime is unpredictable, as seen by its recent decisions to attack areas in the region without warning or to expand attacks to areas not previously targeted (such as Egypt).”
This comes as the US and Israel are planning “one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date” against Iran’s power grid, sources told CBS News.
The US President has not made any official announcements, but insiders believe strikes could begin as early as this weekend.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said: “The Department of War is locked and loaded, ready to execute the President’s directives at a moment’s notice.”
Mr Trump said the Iranian regime would “peter out” if Washington could hit the country hard enough, as he signalled fresh strikes during a Cabinet meeting on Friday.
He said: “We will be hitting them very hard and, at some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.'”
Major General Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s wartime military command, said in a statement on Saturday: “The United States is moving at an accelerating pace to fan the flames of a full-scale regional war.”
He added: “It is hereby stated explicitly: Muslim countries must, with foresight, monitor America’s crimes and reconsider their cooperation and alignment with the US.
“Otherwise, any country that makes itself a defensive shield for criminal, aggressor America will burn in the fire of war.”