Nigeria, March 4 -- US officials confirmed that more than 1,500 Americans have requested assistance to leave the region. However, air travel has been severely disrupted as missile and drone strikes affect airports and airspace across the Gulf.

The United States has closed embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Lebanon and reduced staff in several other countries. Americans in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were instructed to shelter in place after a drone struck the grounds of the US consulate in Dubai late on March 3.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said all personnel were accounted for after the Dubai incident. The UAE later confirmed that the fire caused by the "drone-related incident" had been extinguished and that no injuries we...