American citizens have been urged to leave a number of countries after the US military, alongside Israel, conducted airstrikes in Iran on February 28.
The United States and Israel have, for many years, argued that Iran’s nuclear program and missile development represent a serious threat to other countries, particularly Western nations.
The US and Israel have previously stated that if Iran were to obtain advanced nuclear capabilities or long-range missiles, it could endanger their countries, and American allies.
At the same time, numerous governments have described Iran’s leadership under Khamenei as highly authoritarian and strongly opposed to Western policies.
Many Iranians themselves have called for greater freedoms and political reform in recent years.
Human rights organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly criticized Iran’s authorities for suppressing protests, restricting freedom of speech, carrying out arbitrary arrests, and imposing harsh punishments on critics over the years.
Yet despite the death of the Supreme Leader, the regime itself seemingly lives on.
How close are we to WW3?
Many Americans believe that we are closer than ever to a third world war, 45 percent to be precise.
A YouGov survey conducted across the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, shows that between 41 percent and 55 percent of people in each country think that another world war is likely to occur within the next five to ten years.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, believes we are already experiencing it.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I believe that Putin has already started it [WW3]. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him.
“Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves.”
Is nuclear war survivable?
It seems that if there were to be a nuclear war, survival would come majorly down to location.
A country that’s neutral and out of the way would be ideal, but even then, nuclear weapons are destructive and far-reaching.
But what are the safest countries?
According to experts, Switzlerand is the ultimate neutral nation, having not been officially been involved in a conflict for more than 200 years.
Austria and Denmark also make the cut, as per the Mirror, boasting highly trained and disciplined troops despite their size.
An urgent warning to Americans
The US State Department has issued an urgent alert, urging Americans who live in or are visiting parts of the Middle East to depart the region, as tensions continue to rise.
‘Operation Epic Fury,’ the name given to the US and Israel’s mission to rid the world of the Iranian Supreme Leader, has consequently prompted retaliatory attacks.
The State Department’s website says: “On March 2, 2026, the Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and US government family members to leave the United Arab Emirates due to the threat of armed conflict.”
The warning comes after Trump suggested the conflict last a little longer than he expected.
Speaking to NBC News, he said: “It’s OK. We’re already substantially ahead of our time projections.
“Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.”
Trump added that the operation was ‘the largest, most complex, most overwhelming military offensives the world has ever seen.’
What countries have US citizens been urged to leave?
As the conflict unfolds, the State Department has urged American citizens in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen to depart as quickly as possible.
The department added that the regions face a risk of drone and missile attacks from Iran, as well as significant disruption to commercial aviation, with airspace closures and several airports temporarily suspending operations.
A map produced by Newsweek also shows the most dangerous US states to be in.
The experts suggested that the US states most in danger of being nuclear targets were Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota – given that they are closer to the locations of US missile silos.
The reiterated caution is that ‘no place is completely safe.’
