Washington issues urgent travel warning for Americans across Middle East

Amid escalating tensions with Iran, the US Department of State has urged all American citizens to immediately leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Al Jazeera writes.

The warning applies to Iran, Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.