The State Department is reducing staffing at four US embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel. According to reports from The Associated Press, the affected embassies are located in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In a memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton stated that intelligence agencies had received information indicating that Iran had substantially stepped up efforts to target US personnel. The memo, dated October 23 and obtained by Axios, was reported earlier by CNN and confirmed by three US officials speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
As reported by The Associated Press, Clayton wrote in his memo that 'the lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.' The one-page, unclassified memo warns that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target American diplomats and officials, with the underlying intelligence having already been shared with senior State Department officials. Three US officials confirmed the memo was sent to Rubio in his capacity as secretary of state and national security adviser. The intelligence indicates that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel, prompting the diplomatic security measures across the region. The memo names no specific targets or countries outside the Middle East and does not describe the nature of the plots, but Clayton offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible so Rubio could share it more widely with personnel potentially at risk.
According to The Associated Press, the affected embassies are all under what is known as 'restricted operations' status that has already reduced the size of their personnel footprints'. The embassies will remain open despite the staffing reductions. Unlike in Saudi Arabia, where nonessential US personnel and their families were ordered to leave the country earlier this week, family members and nonessential staff were also ordered to leave the US Embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. A US official explained that 'due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff.' The intelligence warning has nevertheless heightened concerns about the safety of American personnel across parts of the Middle East.
As reported by The Associated Press, the threats from Iran and Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are related to the staffing changes. A US official also indicated that officials fear Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could extend attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region. The memo emerged shortly after the State Department announced the staffing reductions, with US officials adamantly denying the drawdowns are tied to any potential new US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The prospect of renewed US and Israeli military operations against Iran, potentially after the midterm elections, is adding to security concerns across the region. Meanwhile, 43% of sources lean right in predicting that conflict in West Asia will spike as Washington and Tehran harden their positions ahead of the US midterms in early November.
According to Iranian state television, the Revolutionary Guard navy this week again threatened to strike US military bases in the region if the United States keeps helping guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. As reported by The Associated Press, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an opinion column in the Financial Times that 'any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere in the region will put civilian lives and the well-being of all regional states and the global economy at great risk.' Meanwhile, President Trump made remarks at a Florida rally on Friday, stating that 'we may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree [to a deal],' while warning that Tehran must not obtain nuclear weapons. Addressing the campaign rally, Trump issued a military warning to Tehran, threatening 'another little Epic Fury' if they fail to reach a diplomatic agreement.
