The US State Department has issued a fresh security alert to its citizens in protest-ridden Iran, asking all American citizens there to leave the country immediately.
“Leave Iran now,” the US Virtual Embassy in Tehran stated late on Monday, and urged its citizens to make their own risk assessments and travel plans because “the US government cannot guarantee your safety if you choose to depart.”
“US nationals are at significant risk of questioning, arrest, and detention in Iran,” the advisory said, adding that possessing an American passport alone can be grounds for detention.
Warning dual nationals to exit using only their Iranian passports, the embassy further said that those who cannot leave the country must “find a secure location within the residence or take shelter in safer buildings with a sufficient stockpile of food, water, medication, and other essentials”.
Iran has been grappling with nationwide unrest since late December, with protesters demanding reforms and economic relief as Western sanctions continue to cripple it currency, the rial.
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Human rights watch groups based in the US have estimated that more than 600 people have been killed in Iran in one of the deadliest protest waves rocking the country, while thousands have been detained by Iranian authorities.
Tehran has since imposed strict restrictions on protesters and shut down mobile and internet services to prevent the spread of what it describes is foreign-fuelled violence.
Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and the US and Israel have intensified again since their 12-day war in June last year. Last week, US President Donald Trump said his administration is considering “some powerful options”, including airstrikes.
In response, the Iranian foreign minister said that “Iran is prepared to fight all the enemies that want to impose war on a self-respecting nation”. Iranian officials also threatened to target US and Israeli military bases and personnel, who they said would become “legitimate targets” if Washington intervenes in the protests.
Iran possesses a large arsenal of long-range hypersonic missiles which can reach American bases spread across the Middle East and even as far as the Red Sea.
Experts have warned that a war with Iran could send the region into permanent chaos.
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