Nearly 20k US citizens returned home from Middle East since Iran war began: State Department

Nearly 20,000 U.S. citizens have returned home from the Middle East since the war with Iran began, the State Department said Thursday.

They returned to the states after the U.S. and Israel started launching strikes on Iran on Saturday. The 20,000 does not  include "many" Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States," Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said in a statement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed his department Thursday to coordinate charter flight and ground transportation operations and to continue to ramp them up with additional flights and ground transports.

The department has also created a Crisis Intake Form for U.S. citizens in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates that will allow them to directly receive information about upcoming charter flights and ground transportation options.

The department’s 24/7 Task Force has assisted over 10,000 U.S. citizens abroad, including offering security guidance and travel assistance and will continue such efforts, Johnson also said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that U.S. citizens in the region were given prior warnings to evacuate. 

Critics of the evacuation say the Trump administration has not made it a priority.