Donald Trump was asked in the Oval Office why the US administration had no plan to evacuate Americans from the Middle East ahead of Saturday's strikes on Iran, NBC News reports.

"Well, because it all happened very fast. I thought we would be in a situation where we would be attacked. They were preparing to attack Israel," the US president said.

Yesterday, the State Department urged Americans across the Middle East to evacuate from many countries. Due to Iran's retaliatory strikes, people found themselves stranded across the region as many airports were closed and flights cancelled.