US Bans Travel to Southeastern Turkey, Orders Departure of Non-Essential Personnel

On March 9 (local time), the United States raised its travel advisory for southeastern regions of Turkey, which are close to Iran, and ordered the departure of non-essential diplomatic staff.

Debris from a NATO air defense missile that fell in Hatay, southern Turkey, on the 4th. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that while the travel advisory for the rest of Turkey remains at Level 2, "Exercise Increased Caution," the southeastern region has been raised to Level 4, "Do Not Travel."

The embassy also stated, "As of today, the U.S. Department of State has ordered non-emergency personnel and their families to leave the Consulate General in Adana."

The Adana region borders Hatay, where debris from a NATO air defense missile—launched to intercept a ballistic missile fired from Iran—fell on March 4.

Nearby is Incirlik Air Base, known to store U.S. tactical nuclear weapons.

On the same day, Turkey's Ministry of Defense announced that it had deployed six F-16 fighter jets to northern Cyprus, an allied region, in response to the situation with Iran.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.