US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that approximately 9,000 Americans had fled the Middle East since the start of US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
His comments came as US and Israel bombed Tehran on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump warned it was "too late" to hold talks with Iran to end the war now in its fourth day, in which hundreds of Iranians, including 165 children and school staff, as well as six US soldiers have been killed.
Drones and missiles crashed into oil facilities and US diplomatic missions in the Gulf as Tehran retaliated, and Israel pushed troops deeper into Lebanon to battle the Tehran-backed Hezbollah after it entered the fray.
Rubio also told reporters that around 1,600 Americans are currently requesting assistance.
Rubio also confirmed a drone strike on Tuesday adjacent to the US consulate in Dubai and said all personnel were safe.
"A drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the chancellery building and then set off a fire in that place. All personnel are accounted for," Rubio added.
Rubio spoke with reporters as President Donald Trump's top national security advisers were trying to making the case to members of Congress for the US-Israel war on Iran, as Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans clamored for more information.
Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, were to hold briefings first for the entire 100-member Senate and later the 432-member House of Representatives.
Republicans control slim majorities in both the Senate and House and have been strongly supportive of Trump’s policy initiatives, as is typical when the White House and Congress are controlled by the same party.
But the Middle East war has prompted a few members of his party to join Democrats in saying the president should not send troops to fight abroad without first obtaining Congress' approval.
