US working to organize evacuation ships, flights for Americans in Israel as embassy closes for next three days
The United States was working to organize evacuation routes for Americans in Israel — as the Jewish state and Iran continued to fire barrages of missiles at each other.
It comes after the embassy revealed it would be shut from Wednesday through Friday in order to comply with Israeli guidance.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem was working on the evacuation arrangements, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee announced in a post on X.
3 Passengers who had left Israel on Tuesday aboard the Crown Iris cruise ship.
REUTERS
3 Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the US Embassy was working on evacuation arrangements.
AFP via Getty Images
Huckabee urged US citizens still in Israel to sign up for updates through the State Department's Smart Traveler program as tensions mounted.
3 Birthright Israel evacuated approximately 1,500 program participants earlier today aboard the Crown Iris.
Erez Uzir, courtesy of Birthright Israel
The warnings came as intense Israeli airstrikes continued to pummel Iran's capital early Wednesday — a day after President Trump demanded 'unconditional surrender' from the Islamic Republic's leaders.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran, Israel trade fresh air attacks as Trump weighs US involvement
By Steve Holland, Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Iran and Israel traded further air attacks on Thursday as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States would join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear and missile facilities. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes against its major rival has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of people, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed two dozen civilians in Israel. The worst-ever conflict between the two regional powers has raised fears that it will draw in world powers and deliver another blow to the Middle East, where the spillover effects of the Gaza war have undermined stability. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's air campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting. "We may do that" he said, adding "it's a little late" for such talks. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rebuked Trump's earlier call for Iran to surrender in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. "Any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "The Iranian nation will not surrender." Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and says its program is for peaceful purposes only. The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week Tehran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva to urge Iran to return to the negotiating table, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city. Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?' A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. But the prospect of a U.S. strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Senior U.S. Senate Democrats urged Trump to prioritise diplomacy and seek a binding agreement to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, while expressing concern about his administration's approach. "We are alarmed by the Trump administration's failure to provide answers to fundamental questions. By law, the president must consult Congress and seek authorization if he is considering taking the country to war," they said in a statement. "He owes Congress and the American people a strategy for U.S. engagement in the region." DRONE ATTACKS On Thursday morning, a missile warning was issued by Israel's military and explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military said several civilian areas, including a hospital, were hit by Iranian missile strikes. In Iran, the ISNA news agency reported that an area near the heavy water facility of the Khondab nuclear facility was targeted by Israel. Earlier, air defences were activated in Tehran, intercepting drones on the outskirts of the capital, the semi-official SNN news agency reported. Iranian news agencies also reported it had arrested 18 "enemy agents" who were building drones for Israeli attacks in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. "We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said. Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel," for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. 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The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days. U.S.-based Iranian activist news agency HRANA said 639 people had been killed in the Israeli attacks and 1,329 injured as of June 18. Reuters could not independently verify the report.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran's supreme leader warns U.S. of 'irreparable harm'
Iran's supreme leader warns U.S. of 'irreparable harm' originally appeared on TheStreet. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned the United States against becoming involved in the conflict and stated that if the U.S. engages in military action, there would be "irreparable harm." President Donald Trump is contemplating U.S. involvement after Israel launched over 50 airstrikes in the vicinity of Tehran, specifically nuclear construction, and weapons installations. "They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn't frightened by such threats. The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily." said Khamenei on X. While tensions continue to rise, there have been no U.S. strikes overnight. Iran's ballistic missile activity has appeared to slow a bit, but Israel did claim that it shot down three drones on Wednesday. As per the Financial Times, Russia has also entered the war. Russia condemned the Israeli actions, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warning the strikes could provoke a "broader nuclear conflict." Russian President Vladimir Putin and UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed expressed "deep concern". The Russian intelligence agency also added that there could be 'negative consequences for the whole region.' While geopolitical concerns are growing, crypto markets remain under pressure. The price of Bitcoin has decreased by 4.05% over the past week, currently standing at $104,783.19, amid concerns about investor exposure. Ethereum stands at $2,509.50, down by 9.30% over the week, as per Kraken. Attacks on cryptocurrency companies have also been a part of the Israel-Iran conflict. On June 18, Nobitex, the largest crypto exchange in Iran, suffered a cyberattack when hackers gained access to part of its reporting system and hot wallets. Nobitex assured that all users in cold storage are safe and that they would fully compensate affected accounts. Predatory Sparrow, a group associated with Israel, took an opportunity to publicly state that they attacked Nobitex because it's the leading exchange for Tehran to evade sanctions. Iran's supreme leader warns U.S. of 'irreparable harm' first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 18, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Washington Post
25 minutes ago
- Washington Post
US starts evacuating some diplomats from its embassy in Israel as Iran conflict intensifies
WASHINGTON — The State Department has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the U.S. embassy in Israel as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify and President Donald Trump warns of the possibility of getting directly involved in the conflict. A government plane evacuated a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to leave the country Wednesday, said two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements. There was no indication of how many diplomats and family members departed on the flight or how many may have left by land routes to Jordan or Egypt. The flight came shortly before U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on X that the embassy was making plans for evacuations by plane and ship for private American citizens. Hours after Huckabee's tweet, however, the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs tweeted that 'we have no announcement about assisting private U.S. citizens to depart at this time' from Israel or the Palestinian territories. The State Department didn't explain the discrepancy but said in response to questions that it is considering all options and 'will alert the U.S. citizen community if there is additional information to share regarding departure options.' It added that it is providing information about routes out of Israel to Americans who want to leave 'by their own means' and urged them to go as soon as it's safe to do so. Of the diplomats, the State Department said earlier that 'given the ongoing situation and as part of the embassy's authorized departure status, mission personnel have begun departing Israel through a variety of means.' 'Authorized departure' means that nonessential staff and the families of all personnel are eligible to leave at government expense. The evacuations, comments from the White House and shifting of American military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East have heightened the possibility of deepening U.S. involvement in a conflict that threatens to spill into a wider regional war . Trump has issued increasingly pointed warnings about the U.S. joining Israel in striking at Iran's nuclear program, saying Wednesday that he doesn't want to carry out a U.S. strike on the Islamic Republic but suggesting he is ready to act if it's necessary. The State Department also has steadily ramped up its warnings to American citizens in Israel and throughout the region, including in Iraq. Last week, ahead of Israel's first strikes on Iran, the department and the Pentagon put out notices announcing that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad had ordered all nonessential personnel to leave and that the Defense Department had 'authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East . Those warnings have increased as the conflict has intensified, with the embassy in Jerusalem authorizing the departure of nonessential staff and families over the weekend and ordering remaining personnel to shelter in place until further notice. The embassy has been closed since Monday and will remain shut through Friday.
