Iran stepped up plots to target US personnel, memo warns
A senior US intelligence official warns Iranian plots against American citizens have reached 'advanced stages' as Washington pulls staff from Gulf missions.
Washington — Iran has sharply stepped up efforts to target American personnel, and lethal plots against U.S. citizens have reached an advanced stage, the Trump administration's senior intelligence official has warned in a memo seen by reporters.
The alert from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton was dated Friday and addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe copied in, The Japan Times reported. The unclassified memo was first reported by Axios.
"Specifically, through various channels, we have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel," Clayton wrote. "The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries."
The warning landed as Washington draws down its presence in the region. On Wednesday the State Department ordered nonemergency government employees and their families to leave U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia, with family members to be withdrawn from several other missions. On Saturday it updated travel advisories for more than a dozen countries across the Gulf and Middle East, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Israel, citing a heightened threat from Iran-aligned Houthi forces.
A U.S. official said staffing at embassies is constantly evaluated against new security information, and that "the threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting U.S. officials are informing our decisions". Some missions were placed on Restricted Operations Status, giving the department flexibility over personnel without publicly announcing a change. Iran has not publicly responded to the memo's claims, which could not be independently verified.
The backdrop is a regional conflict now a week short of its ninth month, triggered by the Iran war. Houthi attacks have intensified alongside a rise in strikes on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and sources said earlier this month that Tehran was preparing a more forceful response should Washington resume large-scale military attacks on its territory. Gulf states have been bracing for a possible return to open US-Iran war.
The war has weighed heavily on President Donald Trump's approval ratings ahead of midterm elections on Nov. 3. For the diplomats and families now packing their bags across the Gulf, the more immediate question is whether the drawdown is a precaution — or a prelude.
Sources
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