The State Department approved up to $40 million to evacuate Americans from the Middle East on charter flights

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has authorized up to $40 million in emergency funds to be used to pay for charter evacuation flights for Americans to leave the Middle East due to transportation disruptions caused by the Iran war.

The department agreed to use money from a fund typically reserved for emergencies involving diplomatic and consular personnel, according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

He watches: Americans stranded abroad as the Iran war erupts describe their struggle to return home

The State Department confirmed the use of emergency funds but declined to specify the amount.

“We have sufficient funding to cover our efforts so far,” she said in response to an inquiry from the Associated Press. “The administration will work with Congress if additional funding is needed.”

Under federal law, private Americans are obligated to reimburse the government for such transfers, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived that requirement last week.

The State Department has faced accusations from lawmakers and travelers of not adequately planning for the war launched by the United States and Israel in Iran and of not acting quickly enough to help Americans in the region. The United States advised Americans in 14 Middle Eastern countries to leave, issuing a warning two days after the war began as airspace closures and flight cancellations made travel difficult.

Criticisms of the State Department for its actions in crisis situations have been consistent across Democratic and Republican administrations, from the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 until the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021.

The department said in a statement Tuesday that more than 40,000 Americans have returned to the United States from the Middle East since the Iran war began on February 28, although the vast majority of those returned home commercially without government assistance.

She said that she organized more than twenty charter flights that transported thousands of American citizens from various Middle Eastern countries either to the United States or Europe, but most of the more than 27,000 people who requested help “rejected the help when it was offered to them, and chose either to remain in the country or book more suitable commercial flight options.”

“At this time, available seats on the administration’s charter flight options are significantly greater than demand from Americans in the region,” she said, adding that those charter flights “continue to operate at less than 40% occupancy on average.”