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Iran's Revolutionary Guards urged civilians across the region on Friday to stay away from areas near U.S. forces, nearly a month into the war with the United States and Israel.
"The cowardly American-Zionist forces ... are attempting to use civilian locations and innocent people as human shields," said the Guards in a statement on their Sepah News website.
"We recommend that you urgently leave locations where American forces are stationed so that no harm comes to you."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Gulf countries on Thursday to refuse hosting US soldiers in hotels alongside civilians, saying their presence puts civilians at risk, according to Iranian media.
Araghchi said US troops have left their military bases in Gulf Cooperation Council countries since the start of the war that was initiated by the US and Israel, because of strikes targeting those facilities, and have taken shelter in hotels and offices.
He added that the soldiers are “using the citizens of those countries as human shields.”
Araghchi also said that hotels in the US refuse bookings for officers whose presence could endanger civilians, as he urged hotels in the Gulf to take similar measures.
The remarks come amid rising military tensions in the region and exchanges of attacks between Iran, the US, and Israel.
Regional escalation has continued to mount since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing over 1,340 people so far, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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