CNN's John Berman pressed a State Department spokesman for specific details about the Trump administration's plan to evacuate Americans from the Middle East.
The government encouraged Americans to return home as Iran retaliates to joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes that have killed hundreds, including the country's senior leadership, but many Americans have complained they cannot find transportation or assistance.
"Any update on the number offlights that are out?" Berman asked. "Becauseall we've been told is a singlechartered evacuationflight has taken off. Any morethan that at this point?"
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott declined to offer specifics, saying that could pose a security risk to the operations.
"Well, I can say charterflights are underway, but foroperational reasons, we'relimited by what we can say interms of specifics," Pigott said. "We'll becontinually updating people onthose numbers throughout the daygoing forward in the days ahead. Our main priority is gettingthat information out about step.state.gov, the [phone] number I justmentioned to make sure thatpeople are getting theinformation they need that arein the region. So we'll beupdating those continually. ButI can say, like you mentioned,the 20,000 Americans that havebeen able to return to the United States and the provisionof direct assistance to nearly10,000 Americans since thisbegan because of that 24/7 taskforce."
Berman asked him to confirm at least one detail.
"But it's flights plural?" he asked. "It's flights with an S at thispoint, not just one? The reasonI'm asking, Tommy, is because oneof the questions has been othercountries or countries werehaving multiple charter flights.They had a string of charterflights out, in some cases a dayor two days before the United States, which is the one thatlaunched this conflict. So whywere other countries able to get this started more quickly?"
Pigott disagreed that the U.S. operation had been lacking in comparison to other countries.
"I don't accept thatcharacterization of what we'vebeen able to do here," Pigott said. "We saw theimplementation of this taskforce immediately, and we alsosaw the assistance of Americansfrom the very beginning. That'swhy that 10,000 number is soimportant. Each one of thesecountries, of course, with adifferent situation that peopleare working with, people areactively overcoming in order toprovide those security optionswhere able. But we have seen Americans be able to return to United States since thebeginning, we've been providingthat direct security, thatdirect travel guidance from thevery beginning."
He added that hundreds of Americans have already reached out proactively seeking assistance, but Berman pressed him again.
"Got it, but it is flights,plural with an S, just to beclear at this point?" Berman said.
"Yes, flights plural," Pigott agreed. "Again,for operational securityreasons, I can't get into moredetails than that."