AXIOS (Julianna Bragg) - After Iran war panic, U.S. scales back Middle East evacuations as demand drops
More than 43,000 American citizens have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the U.S. struck Iran 11 days ago, the State Department said Wednesday. Why it matters: Despite widespread panic among Americans abroad last week after the State Department encouraged citizens to immediately evacuate various countries, the agency now says its scaling back assistance due to declining demand. What they're saying: State Department Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said in a statement Wednesday that the agency has completed more than three dozen charter flights to evacuate Americans. - He added that the State Department contacted almost 9,000 Americans in the United Arab Emirates to offer seats on U.S. government charter flights,…