The U.S. Department of State started evacuating American citizens from Israel on Saturday, June 21, 2025, following President Donald Trump’s order to strike three major Iranian nuclear facilities. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged Americans to leave the country due to concerns over a possible Iranian counterattack. Huckabee noted that evacuation flights face challenges because much of Israel’s airspace is closed, advising citizens to seize any available opportunity to depart. Israeli airline El Al responded by offering 50 seats on flights leaving Tel Aviv for eight destinations, including New York and Los Angeles, starting Monday. President Trump announced the completion of the strikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear sites, carried out by B-2 stealth bombers. In a Truth Social post, Trump confirmed that a full payload of bombs targeted Fordow and that all U.S. planes returned safely. The conflict began a week earlier when Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, focusing on uranium enrichment facilities to block Iran’s nuclear weapon development. The Washington-based Health Rights Activist group reported to the Associated Press that the mutual aerial strikes have killed at least 657 people in Iran, including 263 civilians. At the same time, Israeli officials confirmed 24 deaths in Israel. Emergency services in northern Israel reported 23 injuries from strikes on Friday. According to a Reuters-reviewed State Department cable, hundreds of Americans have fled Iran in the past week as tensions escalate.
