US Military Planes Transporting Americans From Middle East, Top General Says

C-17 planes are now being used, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on March 4, 2026.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on March 4 that the U.S. military is helping Americans to flee the Middle East, after the U.S. State Department warned citizens that they need to leave roughly a dozen countries in the region as strikes on Iran continue.

“We’ve also opened up space available, seats, as C-17s and other airplanes come in to try to help folks get out,” Caine told reporters at a news conference on the morning of March 4, referring to Boeing C-17 Globemasters, a heavy military transport aircraft.

Caine did not provide any additional details, including how many Americans have been assisted by the military flights.

During the news conference, Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. military operation would be “accelerating, not decelerating” its strikes against Iran and indicated that more assets would be sent to the region.

U.S. State Department official Dylan Johnson said on March 3 that the department was working to secure aircraft, including “military aircraft and charter flights,” to fly Americans home from the region.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 3 that about 9,000 Americans have been able to leave the Middle East since the conflict started on Feb. 28.

This week, the State Department urged U.S. citizens to leave countries and territories, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed because of strikes being launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, prompting Tehran to launch missiles and drones toward a number of neighboring countries.

Travel advisories for several Middle Eastern countries were also raised to Level 3 by the State Department, including for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel, meaning that Americans are advised to reconsider travel to those areas. Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and Syria still have Level 4, or “do not travel,” advisories in place from the department.

Over the past weekend, multiple U.S. embassies and consulates in Pakistan and Iraq were the targets of protests and violent clashes, with reports of pro-Iranian regime demonstrators attempting to enter those compounds.

Two drones struck the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, causing a “limited fire,” the Saudi Ministry of Defense confirmed. The embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound. This followed an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, officials said.

A U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy and a C-17 Globemaster on the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., on July 17, 2008. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The State Department issued a worldwide alert for U.S. citizens overseas on Feb. 28, urging them to “follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate” following the initiation of combat operations in Iran.

NATO defense systems also intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran as it headed toward Turkey’s airspace, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said on March 4.

“Every step taken to defend our territory and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation,” the defense ministry said. “We remind all parties that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions against our country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.