An American tourist recounted her frightening experience evacuating the Middle East amid Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel. These strikes came in response to the US-supported assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over the weekend.

Susie Keepper, a resident of Oklahoma City originally from Lamar, Missouri, was visiting Israel and Jordan as part of a guided tour organized by Gate 1 Travel, which began on February 21.

On Wednesday, she was enjoying her travels and shared on social media, “If you ever doubted if Jesus is/was real, come to The Sea of Galilee and surrounding towns or Jerusalem and your doubts will vanish. This country has proof that Jesus lived and continues to live in Christians.”

However, by Friday, the situation had changed drastically. She posted that individuals at the American Embassy were making their escape, and her tour group commenced a two-day journey to reach safety in Jordan.

The escalation began when the United States and Israel conducted an assault on Friday night, resulting in Khamenei’s death and triggering a significant retaliatory response from Iran throughout the region.

Keepper was in Jerusalem at the time, and her group initially planned to head to Tel Aviv’s airport. Unfortunately, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines had halted all flights, complicating their escape plans.

By 11pm PST, Keepper shared that sirens were sounding throughout Israel, and she was not allowed to cross into Jordan, so her group was forced to take shelter.

Later that night, she wrote on social media, ‘I am just a little farm girl from [southwest Missouri] right in the middle of the forthcoming war in the Middle East.’

American tourist Susie Keepper (pictured) described her terror evacuating the Middle East as Iran launched attacks against Israel

Iran launched a massive retaliation attack over the weekend (Pictured: an explosion from an Iranian missile in Israel on Saturday)

‘Warnings and sirens are going off again. The 2 main targets are Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I am near Jerusalem in a shelter. I’m just a little girl from [southwest Missouri] who is scared to death. The airport is closed down, and I can’t get to Jordan. I am in God’s hands,’ she added.

In a separate post, she shared photos of the bomb shelter she was in with the caption, ‘It is all concrete and cold. Lord, I want to be with my family. I am beyond scared.’

Keepper told Fox 40 that she spent Saturday night at a hotel near the border of Egypt, and experienced additional raids and spent time in a bomb shelter.

On Sunday, she added that they had crossed into Egypt, but needed to take a 10-hour bus ride to Cairo, and once they got there, the travel group would arrange flights home as soon as possible. 

In his first public briefing since the attacks, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended America’s decision to strike Iran on Monday.

‘We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,’ Hegseth told a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

He warned that ‘war is hell and it always will be’ as a fourth US soldier was confirmed dead following Iranian strikes on a base in Kuwait. 

Hegseth also outlined the war goal of the mission in Iran, which did not include regime change: ‘This operation is a clear, devastating decisive mission. Destroy the missile threat. Destroy the Navy. No nukes.’

The United States and Israel launched an attack against Iran on Friday night, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured)

‘Know this above all, President Trump and I have your back always through fire, through criticism, through fake news, through everything we unleash you because you are the best, most powerful, most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen,’ Hegseth concluded.

Donald Trump broke his silence Sunday on the first US casualties of the Iran war in an exclusive phone interview with the Daily Mail.

‘They’re great people,’ the president said. ‘And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous – it could happen again.’ 

Trump also revealed a potential timeline for the war with Iran – suggesting fighting could go on for the next four weeks.

‘It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so. It’s always been about a four-week process so – as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks – or less,’ the president explained.

He said he hasn’t been surprised by any of the outcomes of the strikes thus far.