The Trump administration kept its word and, with a first charter flight, began repatriating Americans stranded in the Middle East, due to the war being waged against Iran.

Less than 24 hours after Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, committed to evacuating approximately 1,500 American citizens from the Middle East to their safety, and his plan was set in motion. “We have identified and continue to identify charter flights, military flight options, and expanding commercial flight options, which means working with airlines to send larger planes with more seats, and a combination of these three options. We need to have the contact information of Americans who require assistance. They must register with us, because as these options open up, we need to call them,” the official stated at a press conference. Following this strategy, the State Department announced in a statement published on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the first aircraft whose transport costs would be covered by the Washington government had taken off from the Middle East. Although it did not reveal the departure point or the number of passengers it carried, it anticipated that other planes are ready to take to the airspace shortly with the mission of supporting hundreds of Americans. of Americans waiting in nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

“Today, a State Department charter flight carrying U.S. citizens departed from the Middle East bound for the United States, as part of our ongoing efforts to help Americans return home.