Anxious travelers scramble as Iran war strands hundreds of thousands across the Middle East

Frustrated and anxious travelers searched Tuesday for any way out of the Middle East and beyond as the widening Iran war choked off commercial air traffic through the region for a fourth straight day, stranding hundreds of thousands of people.

What began Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran quickly rippled far beyond the immediate conflict zone. With airspace closed or heavily restricted across much of the Gulf, passengers have been stranded not only in the region but also in cities far from the fighting after their connecting flights were canceled.

“They say ‘Get out,’ but how do you expect us to get out when airspaces are closed?” said Odies Turner, a 32-year-old chef from Dallas who was stuck in Doha, Qatar. “They just have been canceling every flight. I want to go home.”

The U.S. told American citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the region right away using any available commercial transportation. The countries include Iran and Israel, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

But commercial options remained limited.

More than 19,000 of the roughly 51,600 flights scheduled into and out of the Middle East between the start of the war and Friday have been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it was “actively securing” military and charter aircraft to fly Americans out of the region. It said it was in contact with nearly 3,000 citizens seeking assistance or information.

“We know that we’re going to be able to help them,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday, while cautioning that “it's going to take a little time because we don’t control the airspace closures."

Rubio urged stranded Americans to contact the State Department: "We need to know who you are.”

Earlier in the day, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” He provided information ”as a courtesy to those wishing to leave" about an Israeli government shuttle bus to Egypt that Americans could try “as you make your own security plans.”

Israel’s airspace has been closed since Saturday, although some land crossings remain open.

El Al, Israel's flag carrier, said it was launching a large-scale “recovery operation.” Transportation Minister Miri Regev said Ben-Gurion Airport is preparing to gradually reopen for limited incoming flights starting early Thursday.

Under the plan, one passenger flight per hour will be allowed in the first 24 hours — totaling about 5,000 people — with more possible depending on security conditions. It is unclear whether only Israelis will be permitted on the flights, and no commercial departures leaving Israel have been approved.

Australia said a commercial flight from Dubai to Sydney was scheduled Wednesday to start repatriating 24,000 Australians stranded in the UAE.

“This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Across the Middle East, travelers waited in terminals and hotels, or stayed inside because of airstrikes. Some cruise passengers were unable to disembark or reroute because ships could not sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

Matt Carwell, an American staying in Dubai, was speaking with The Associated Press by phone from his hotel balcony when he suddenly stopped midsentence.

“Wow,” the 46-year-old said. “There was just a boom.” A fighter jet roared overhead moments later.

Carwell, who volunteers at a New Hampshire school, has flights booked and keeps waiting for one that doesn't get canceled.

“Right now, we’re safe and comfortable,” he said, but not everyone is. “Just feel for them and feel for the people who have either lost their lives or lost someone they're close to.”

Airspace across Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria were still shut Tuesday, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. The UAE declared its airspace partially closed, and Jordan suspended flights daily from the mid-afternoon until 6 a.m. local time.

The geography of the war has magnified the disruption to air travel. Gulf airports connect Europe, Africa and Asia, and carriers routinely funnel long-haul passengers through hubs such as Dubai and Doha.

“Within the Middle East, an eight-hour flying distance covers two-thirds of the world population,” said Anita Mendiratta, an aviation and tourism consultant who was stranded in Bangkok. When that corridor is blocked, Mendiratta said, it forces planes far north or south, which "puts huge pressure on the airlines.”

Some of the aviation notices governing the closures allow authorities to reopen or restrict portions of airspace on short notice depending on security conditions, meaning flight schedules can change rapidly as the conflict continues to unfold.

Despite the uncertainty, some travelers have managed to catch flights.

Oman Airways advertised flights from Muscat International Airport for passengers able to reach the city from the UAE. Virgin Atlantic said it planned to resume limited service between London Heathrow and both Dubai and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Oman’s airspace remained open, while Saudi Arabia kept most of its airspace operating despite partial closures near its border with Iraq and along the Persian Gulf — making Muscat and Riyadh key staging points for repatriation efforts.

Some wealthy travelers are paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe, first traveling overland to Muscat or to Riyadh to reach airports considered safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks. Prices for charter flights have soared since the start of the war.

Emirates and Etihad operated a limited number of repatriation flights Tuesday, even as their regular commercial schedules remained suspended. Both carriers said the departures were focused on moving stranded passengers and operating cargo or repositioning flights with government approval.

“We called our children at 3 a.m. to ask forgiveness because we might die and to tell them we love them,” said Mariana Muicaru, one of hundreds of Romanian pilgrims who had been stranded on a church trip to Israel. She described watching rockets streak across the sky, before eventually reaching Bucharest on Tuesday.

In Germany, passengers arriving in Frankfurt from Dubai on Tuesday were asked by reporters if they were glad to be home.

“Yes, of course,” Wassim Mahlas said. “I’m breathing German air again.”

Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report, including Danica Kirka, Daniel Niemann, Kristen Grieshaber, Nicolae Dumitrache, Samy Magdy, Jovana Gec, Josh Funk, Julie Walker and Rod McGuirk.

A man, center right, breaks down as he hugs a relative at airport upon his arrival from Jeddah, in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Jeff and Rebecca Moses from Manchester, arrive at Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport on a flight from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Monday, March 2, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

People arrive at the airport after being evacuated from the Middle East on a government flight, in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

An Indian man who was stranded in Dubai is welcomed by his relatives upon his arrival at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo)

An Airbus A380 from Abu Dhabi lands without passengers, in Munich, Germany, Monday, March 2, 2026, due to safety reasons as a cabin crew of at least 17 people would have been required to take passengers on board, which, according to Lufthansa, was not available and could not be flown in due to the massive restrictions. (Malin Wunderlich/dpa via AP)

Flight attendants and passengers arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, from Dubai, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man celebrates as he arrives at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

An overseas Filipino worker sleeps as she waits for updates on her cancelled flight to the Middle East at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Antonia, 5 years old, sits on suitcases upon arriving at the Henri Coanda International airport after being evacuated from Israel via Egypt on a commercial flight in Otopeni, Romania, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A man works beside a parked Emirates plane at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A display in the arrivals terminal of the Henri Coanda International Airport shows cancelled flights originating in Middle East countries, in Otopeni, Romania, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south, as President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that the country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel and vowed to strengthen protection of oil facilities and boost fuel output.

Ukraine has markedly stepped up its long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for its invasion — now in its fifth year — and make Russians feel the consequences.

“Our ‘long-range sanctions’ reached two oil refineries in Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday. “Each (strike) means a reduction in the resources that fuel the Russian war machine, and another step toward peace.”

The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies, causing widespread shortages and long lines at gas stations across the country and prompting authorities in many regions to introduce fuel rationing. According to Western analysts, it has also slowed Moscow’s efforts on the battlefield, heaping pressure on the Kremlin to come to the negotiating table.

Speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, Putin described the Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries as an attempt to “cause a split in Russian society and force Russia to halt, even if only briefly, the advance of our troops along the line of contact, and create conditions for launching a negotiation process on terms advantageous to our adversary."

“We will not give them that chance,” Putin said, adding that “strikes on our infrastructure, wherever they are directed, have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front, on the line of contact.”

He said for the first time that Ukraine has proposed a halt on deep strikes, arguing that Kyiv made the offer because Russian strikes deep into Ukrainian territory are more powerful and devastating.

The Russian leader added that Kyiv also offered to limit the fighting to the four regions that Russia annexed but never fully captured — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He rejected the proposal, arguing it would allow Ukraine to relocate its forces that are fighting Russian troops in other areas to let them focus on fending off the Russian attacks in the four southeastern regions.

Meanwhile, debris from downed Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, a town in Russia's Krasnodar region, east of occupied Crimea, according to regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev. The falling debris killed one person in Slavyansk and wounded another in a nearby village, local authorities said.

The facility is one of southern Russia’s major refineries, processing close to 4 million tons of crude per year, according to its operator’s website. It is also a key source of petroleum products intended for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.

Zelenskyy also claimed that another Russian refinery, in the Yaroslavl region around 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was hit during the nighttime strikes.

There were no immediate reports from Russian authorities about the strike on the Yaroslavl refinery. Local Gov. Mikhail Evraev reported on Sunday morning that some roads between Moscow and the region's capital, Yaroslavl, were temporarily closed due to “an enemy attack by Ukrainian drones.”

For months, Ukraine has been stepping up attacks on energy facilities deep inside Russia. Despite a raft of Western sanctions, Moscow remains among the world's top exporters of oil and natural gas.

More recently, Ukraine has attempted to choke off fuel deliveries to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in early 2014. Last weekend, Kremlin-installed officials in Crimea suspended gasoline sales to civilians, after Kyiv's targeting of supply routes triggered the worst energy crisis there since the annexation.

Speaking at a meeting with officials that focused on the fuel situation, Putin admitted that the country was “going through a difficult period,” but insisted that Moscow would “honor all its social obligations.”

Shortly after, he told state TV that the country's arms industries will quickly ramp up production of air defense systems to fend off Ukrainian attacks.

Putin also said that Russia will import more fuel and speed up repair works at oil facilities to end the “temporary deficit.”

“All damaged facilities are being restored quite quickly, and the issues that arise are not critical,” he said.

Putin specifically pledged to quickly deal with fuel shortages in Crimea, saying that fuel deliveries to the Black Sea peninsula by land and sea will rise and voicing confidence that “this task will be accomplished.”

As fuel shortages spread across Russia, the governor of the Irkutsk region in Siberia, thousands of kilometers (miles) from the Ukrainian border, Igor Kobzev announced that drivers will only be allowed to buy no more than 50 liters (13 gallons) of fuel per vehicle per day at state-run Rosneft gas stations in the province. Other gas stations may set lower limits.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow was actively reviewing fuel export agreements to avoid compromising domestic needs.

Also on Sunday, a Russian aerial bomb killed two people in Zaporizhzhia — a city in southern Ukraine — and injured 16 others, including two children, said regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.

In Russia's border region of Belgorod, Ukrainian drone strikes killed one person and injured another earlier on Sunday, according to acting local Gov. Alexander Shuvayev.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 213 Ukrainian drones during the night, including over Russia, occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.

Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 142 long-range strike drones and eight missiles overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force. Of those, 125 drones and seven missiles were struck down, the air force said.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on domestic fuel supplies at the Kremlin in Moscow, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, chairs a meeting on domestic fuel supplies at the Kremlin in Moscow, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, sappers remove a fragment of the Russian missile in a residential neighbourhood following an air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a sapper examines a fragment of the Russian missile in a residential neighbourhood following an air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)