Iran Conflict Leads to U.S. Embassy Closures Across Several Nations
| March 23, 2026 – UPDATE: The U.S. embassy in Muscat has resumed limited immigrant and emergency nonimmigrant visa services. All other locations remain closed or have paused consular processing for foreign nationals. |
The U.S. Department of State has closed several embassies and consular offices in and around the Middle East, following a joint Israel-U.S. military campaign in Iran that has since escalated into a broader regional conflict.
As of March 4, these are the embassies and consular officers that have currently paused operations due to ongoing threats in the region:
- Abu Dhabi
- Adana
- Amman
- Baghdad
- Beirut
- Dhahran
- Doha
- Dubai
- Erbil
- Islamabad
- Jeddah
- Jerusalem
- Karachi
- Kuwait City
- Lahore
- Manama
- Muscat
- Nicosia
- Peshawar
- Riyadh
- Tel Aviv
This is a developing story. We’ll continue to update this list as more information gets released.
How embassy closures may impact foreign nationals in the Middle East and surrounding areas
In the past, the State Department has released guidance on “backup” U.S. consulates for residents who cannot attend their respective embassies because of conflict in their home country. For example, in 2021, the federal agency instructed Russian visa applicants to seek consular processing in Warsaw due to embassy closures in Russia.
For those impacted by the latest Middle East embassy and consular closures, government officials have yet released instructions on whether foreign nationals should seek visa services in another country. In addition, several consular posts have stated that residents in the area should seek shelter and stay in place until further notice.
