Seven US Missions Cut Staff as Iran Threat Assessment Lands
A memo from the director of national intelligence says Iranian plots against Americans have reached advanced stages.
By Kwame Silva ·
The State Department is removing non-essential personnel from seven embassies in the Middle East after intelligence reports that Iran has reached advanced stages of planning attacks on Americans abroad.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton sent the memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It states that US agencies found Iran has substantially increased efforts to target personnel overseas, and that lethal plots in the Middle East and other countries are in advanced stages. Axios first reported the memo; The New York Times later cited officials who said it is authentic. Washington has not commented on it publicly.
The Times reported that assessments of threats to American officials, including ambassadors, were conducted in recent weeks, and that Iran has assembled potential targets in Europe. Some intelligence also indicates Iranian operatives are operating inside the United States. One official told the Times that Iran lacks the capacity to carry out all of its ambitions.
Threats against US citizens in the Middle East have reached the highest level since the US-Israel war on Iran began on Feb. 28, officials told the Times. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US 'may do another little epic fury', referring to the war's codename.
The State Department announced on Wednesday that non-essential staff were leaving the embassy in Saudi Arabia, citing Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure. CNN reported staff reductions also at missions in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon. A US official told the Times that Houthi strikes and Iranian plots targeting officials drove the decisions.
The Pentagon has confirmed that 21 US military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the war began. Iran has not responded to the memo. On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Tehran would adopt an offensive strategy if the US renewed attacks, and that the quality, range and power of Iranian missiles had improved. Reuters, citing two senior Iranian security officials, reported that Tehran has plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if new US-Israeli attacks occur.
US authorities have accused Iran of plotting against Americans for years. In March, a US court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate Trump and other politicians on orders from the Revolutionary Guard. In 2022, a Guard member was charged with trying to arrange the killing of former national security adviser John Bolton, offering $300,000 to people in the US. Last year, US intelligence said Iran would continue to threaten US persons globally, particularly those linked to the 2020 killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. This month, the US pulled bombers from an airbase in England after UK authorities arrested several men on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence.
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