A State Department cable circulated to diplomats Friday revealed that hundreds of American citizens have fled Iran through its land borders in the week since Israel began bombing nuclear and military facilities inside the Islamic Republic.
The cable showed that a large number of Americans were in harm's way not only from Israeli strikes, but also from Iranian harassment, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The cable noted that multiple U.S. citizens trying to flee have encountered "delays and harassment" from Iranian authorities and that there are a small number of unconfirmed reports of Americans being detained and imprisoned. The cable said U.S. diplomats were closely tracking such reports.
The cable also noted that Turkmenistan, which shares a long border with northern Iran, had not approved more than 100 requests from the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat for U.S. citizens to enter the country, the Post reported. The State Department was advising U.S. citizens within Iran to find other routes to leave the country, the cable noted.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the cable. Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Friday that the Trump administration does not intend to offer "direct U.S.-government-assisted departure" from Iran. Americans seeking departure "should take advantage of existing means to leave," she said.
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and the Turkmenistan Embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is not known how many U.S. citizens are in Iran, but U.S. officials have estimated the number is in the thousands, the Post reported. Bruce told reporters that 25,000 people have received information and support from the State Department amid hostilities in Israel, the West Bank, and Iran.
The U.S. has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, the year after a revolution there led to the installation of a repressive theocratic regime and a 444-day hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
Switzerland has functioned as a protecting power for the U.S. in Iran, with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran creating a U.S. Interests Section that informally represents Washington, D.C. The Swiss government announced Friday that it was temporarily closing its embassy because of the conflict, the Post reported, stating that Ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano had been in the last group of diplomats to leave the country and would arrive in Azerbaijan on Friday night.
"Switzerland will continue to function as an intermediary transmitting communications between the US and Iran as and when both parties consider appropriate," the Swiss government said in a statement.
In a public travel advisory updated Friday, the State Department said U.S. citizens should "not travel to Iran for any reason and should depart Iran immediately if they are there." Those unable to leave "should be prepared to shelter in place for extended periods."
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in response. It has threatened to target U.S. interests in the Middle East if the U.S. directly joins the conflict on Israel's side.
The White House said Thursday that President Donald Trump is still seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict, but he has given the negotiations a timeline of up to two weeks to produce a suitable breakthrough.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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