As Americans are stranded in the Middle East amid the U.S. and Israel war with Iran, government and private agencies are working around the clock to conduct evacuations.

In addition to the U.S. Department of State's 24/7 task force aimed at evacuating Americans, private security firm Global Guardian is also working around the clock to complete the same mission.

As of Friday, Global Guardian has evacuated more than 4,000 people from the Middle East, according to its CEO and President, Dale Robert Buckner.

While operations and logistics teams sit in an office building in northern Virginia, the firm has personnel in more than 140 countries, allowing Global Guardian access to nearly every corner of the world for emergency response or evacuations.

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"We provide medical evac services, we provide kidnap, ransom, extortion negotiation payment if someone is kidnapped or extorted," Buckner said. "We're providing about 300 missions a month of executive protection travel, in about 84 countries a month."

The private security firm also conducts camera surveillance of residences and commercial property and has cyber analysts monitoring mobile devices. 

After the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in a joint attack last weekend, the firm has been coordinating multiple emergency response evacuations — but this isn't the first time it has assisted Americans out of a crisis zone.

"That means getting people out of Puerto Vallarta a week ago, and Jalisco, Mexico. That means getting people out of Asheville, North Carolina when it got wiped out by a hurricane," Buckner said. 

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Logistically, getting tourists out of a war zone and back to safety is a process, but the firm works fast, completing their first border crossing within the first six hours of the missile strikes.

Immediately, the firm received a call from a pair of students studying abroad, Deputy Vice President of Operations Colin O'Brien told Fox News. He said they were trying to leave Dubai.

"Within about four and a half hours from the phone call, we had our teams in motion to go pick these people up and it was two college-aged women," said O'Brien.

"Put them in the car, we were then able to move from the Omani border and by eight hours we were at the border. Work through the border checkpoint to a hotel in Muscat, where we could stop and give them a short rest while we arrange their transportation home," he says. 

The group said it remains active year-round to ensure evacuation plans are in place before disasters strike.

"There's a narrative of, here’s the pickup point, here’s the key crossing site," Buckner said. "This is what you’re gonna need from a paperwork standpoint, legally. And then we’re gonna put you in a hotel or straight onto a commercial flight. Most likely, at this point in the war, we’re gonna put you on a private charter."

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Buckner said most of these missions happening in the region are ground movement, done by locals. He says in the 140 countries the firm is in, they have ground teams working year-round. Consistently training year-round. 

"We're communicating, we're coordinating, we're executing. Executive protection agents, armed agents, armed vehicles, large-scale event support with medical and security personnel," he said, describing the firm's standard operating capabilities.

"We're coordinating whether the firm needs drivers. From Dubai to Oman, Israel to either Oman, Jordan or Egypt. Out of Bahrain into Saudi Arabia," Buckner said.

While the firm is coordinating with the State Department, it said it has not yet conducted a flight mission on behalf of the department.

Global Guardian offers these services through what it calls a "Duty of Care Membership," which Buckner said costs $15,000 per year for a family of five.

"You are going to sign a contract — whether it's a family, a family office or typically a large corporate logo. Then we become, at your beck and call," Buckner said, describing the emergency response services included in the agreement.

For Americans currently stuck in the Middle East, Buckner said the cost of evacuation using ground and air resources varies depending on the situation and location.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday issued a safety warning to civilians in Iran, accusing the regime of launching military operations from densely populated areas and putting civilian lives at risk.

CENTCOM said Iranian forces are using "heavily populated" cities, including Dezful, Isfahan and Shiraz, to launch one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. U.S. forces urged civilians in Iran to remain at home, warning that locations used for military purposes could lose protected status under international law and become legitimate targets.

"Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people," Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement.

CENTCOM said U.S. forces take "every feasible precaution" to minimize civilian harm but cannot guarantee safety near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes.

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CENTCOM's announcement said Tehran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones since the start of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, though launch rates have declined as U.S. and partner forces have targeted Iran’s military capabilities.

Iran has targeted civilian airports and hotels across the Middle East as part of retaliatory attacks against several Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.

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The UAE’s Ministry of Defense on Sunday released footage of its air defenses intercepting and destroying Iranian drones.

The ministry said 17 ballistic missiles were detected, with 16 destroyed and one falling into the sea. 

Air defenses also detected 117 drones, intercepting 113 of them while four fell within the country’s territory.

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Since the start of Iran’s attacks, the UAE says it has intercepted 221 ballistic missiles and 1,342 drones, along with eight cruise missiles.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed on X that Iran has not attacked "friendly and neighboring countries," saying its strikes have been aimed at U.S. military bases and installations in the region.

MEXICO CITY: Mexican drug cartels are increasingly calculated in their targeting decisions, often avoiding deliberately attacking American tourists and citizens out of concern it could prompt intensified U.S. retaliation, according to experts.

Following last month's killing of Ruben "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," the powerful leader of the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joined 'Fox & Friends' and had a warning for the drug gangs: "The Mexican drug cartels know not to lay a finger on a single American, or they will pay severe consequences under this president."

Analysts say actions by President Donald Trump — including the designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and high-profile operations abroad such as the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran — have reinforced cartel perceptions of heightened risk. 

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Mexican drug cartels have long operated with a primary objective: protect revenue streams and avoid actions that could trigger an overwhelming government response. Security analysts and former U.S. officials say that calculus often includes avoiding the deliberate targeting of American tourists and citizens inside Mexico.

"Of course, drug cartels are afraid of President Trump since he declared them terrorist organizations. That may be one of the reasons why they don't attack American citizens or tourists," cartel expert and activist Elena Chávez told Fox News Digital.

She said the cartels "modernized and are well-informed about what is happening, especially because they know there are bounties on their heads. That's why they fear the United States, even more so since Trump became president and declared the cartels terrorist organizations. Of course, they monitor all of this and have people who keep the leaders informed about how things are moving. The price on "El Mencho's" head in the United States was very high."

Adding to the pressure, Trump spoke Saturday at the newly minted Shield of the Americas Summit in Florida — a coalition of 12 Latin American and Caribbean nations — coming together to take on the cartels, among other policies. 

"We have to knock the hell out of them because they're getting worse. They're taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico. We can't have that. Too close to us," Trump warned.

"Right now, there must be more than a million Americans coming to Mexico to spend their vacations in their homes. The drug cartels don't mess with them or their homes. They know there's no way to avoid a reaction from the United States if they mess with its citizens. There's an unwritten rule that says you shouldn't mess with American citizens; if you do, you'll suffer retaliation from the United States. And even more so now with the Trump administration" national security expert and former Prosecutor of the Specialized Unit on Organized Crime Samuel González told Fox News Digital.

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While high-profile killings of Americans in Mexico have occurred, experts describe them as isolated and liabilities to cartel interests rather than part of a strategic campaign.

"There are several precedents that demonstrate why the cartels are particularly careful not to touch American citizens. One of the most important was the Camarena case: the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985 in Mexico, perpetrated by leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel (Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo) in retaliation for the destruction of "El Búfalo" marijuana ranch.

"This crime marked a turning point in the anti-drug relationship between Mexico and the U.S., prompting the DEA's "Operation Leyenda" to capture those responsible and revealing the complicity between drug traffickers and high-ranking Mexican officials."

He added, "Another case is that of Agent Zapata. On February 15, 2011, gunmen from "Los Zetas"  cartel killed Special Agent Jaime Zapata of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE/HSI) and shot Agent Victor Avila on a highway in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The murder triggered intense pressure from the United States on Mexico to combat the cartels, resulting in the capture of several implicated Los Zetas members, including Julián Zapata Espinoza, alias "El Piolín.

"All these precedents are examples of why the cartels learned that it is not in their best interest to attack American citizens."

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Security experts say cartels closely monitor political rhetoric in Washington, particularly statements suggesting unilateral U.S. military action or expanded cross-border operations. Public debate over labeling cartels as terrorist groups has resurfaced in recent years, with some lawmakers arguing it would provide additional tools to disrupt financing and logistics networks.

According to former federal officials, cartels’ avoidance of deliberately targeting Americans is rooted less in ideology and more in risk management. High-profile attacks on U.S. citizens can generate intense media coverage, diplomatic strain, and increased enforcement operations that disrupt trafficking routes.

Director General of the National Citizen Observatory, Francisco Rivas, told Fox News Digital: "Drug traffickers are much more afraid of attacking a foreigner than a Mexican because crimes against foreigners are prosecuted much more severely by the Mexican authorities. The greater media pressure when the victim is a foreigner creates more incentive for the police and prosecutors to investigate a kidnapping, extortion, disappearance, or homicide."

"In Mexico, more than 90% of intentional homicides and disappearances are related to people who had specific contact with the cartels, primarily for business reasons. The problems tourists experience in Mexico are the same as they might encounter in Miami, London, Rome, or Paris: robberies, fraud, and even some extortion, but these are proportionally marginal. Most crimes suffered in Mexico are suffered by Mexicans, and most violent crimes involve Mexican victims linked to cartels," he said.

While millions of Americans travel to Mexico each year without incident, law enforcement officials emphasize that criminal violence remains widespread in regions where cartels operate.

Authorities on both sides of the border maintain that cartel decision-making is driven by financial incentives and survival calculations. Actions perceived as likely to trigger direct U.S. retaliation are widely viewed by analysts as counterproductive to those interests.

The Balkan nation of Kosovo is facing a constitutional crisis after a deadline passed for electing a new head of state. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, an ally of President Donald Trump, dissolved parliament and called for snap elections.

With conflicts raging around the globe and pressure on the NATO contingent based in the West Balkan nation to keep the peace, Osmani told reporters that "precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up. It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next," she said, according to Kiro7.

Trump recently praised Kosovo’s president for the "great job" she is doing in her country in a February speech. Osmani accepted an invitation from Trump to join the Board of Peace in January and has pledged resources to the International Stabilization Force for Gaza.

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Kosovo faces another possible domestic change that could impact Osmani’s standing. There is chatter of an impending reduction or reorganization of the international NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR which has been in place since 1999 to stabilize the country following war in the Balkans.

The commander of the peacekeeping force, Maj. Gen. Özkan Ulutaş, said in February that the U.S. does not plan to reduce its troop numbers in Kosovo, according to Reporteri. About 600 American troops are currently deployed in the country.

Following Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, tensions between the countries have remained high.

Former Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko told Fox News Digital that "Kosovo needs governance and then a compromise for the election of the president," Majko said. He said he "hopes that the Constitutional Court will provide a solution."

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The Kosovo Parliament has been besieged by stalemate for more than a year. Balkan Insight reported that a February 2025 poll failed to result in the formation of a government. Snap elections in December resulted in a win for the Vetevendosje party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, but the party could not garner enough support from the opposition to elect a president.

Friday’s vote failed because the session fell 14 members short of a quorum. Opposition members boycotted the vote because they did not support Kurti’s nominee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca.

Osmani met with opposition party leaders Friday, a meeting Kurti chose not to attend. The prime minister said that "there should be a failure to elect a president in the third round before dissolving parliament and going to new elections."

Kurti’s party has appealed to the Constitutional Court for a review of the constitutionality of the election process, according to the European Western Balkans site.

New elections may be held as early as April 5, opposition leader Ramush Haradinaj suggested.

Majko told Fox News Digital that he does not see the debate between the parties as a problem, explaining that their ranking in the elections would not change even if they were held again. He said the idea of early elections is an exhausting political crisis that does not produce solutions.