Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Friday that Iran has “significantly increased its efforts to target U.S. personnel” abroad as plots to kill Americans have reached “advanced stages” in the Middle East and other countries.
The warning, contained in an unclassified memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by CBS News, comes as the State Department adjusts the staffing of diplomatic posts in the Middle Eastand the U.S. military is reducing its footprint in the region, amid concerns about direct threats from Iran and threats from the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen.
“The Iranians’ murderous efforts against American citizens have reached an advanced stage both in the Middle East and in some other countries,” Clayton wrote.
The memo, released as the Trump administration considers resuming military strikes against Iran, does not identify specific targets or countries where the alleged plots are underway, nor does it indicate whether attacks could be imminent.
Clayton said the U.S. intelligence community was working to declassify sensitive intelligence — received through various channels — so it could be shared more widely with State Department personnel. CIA Director John Ratcliffe received a copy of the memo.
Axios was first to report on the memo.
The warning follows a series of precautions taken at U.S. diplomatic facilities in the region. Earlier this week, the State Department ordered non-essential U.S. Embassy personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia. Several other U.S. embassies in the region have adjusted their staffing levels under “restricted operations” status, which allows them to reduce staff numbers without officially conducting an orderly departure, CBS News previously reported.
“With respect to embassy personnel, we are constantly evaluating new information about the security environment,” a U.S. official told CBS News on Friday. “The threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terrorist plots targeting U.S. officials informs our decisions regarding adjusting staffing at embassies with RO (restricted operations) status in the region.”
A U.S. official and a senior U.S. military official also told CBS News this week that the military has quietly reduced its footprint at its Middle East posts because of ongoing threats.
Houthi militants have intensification of drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, targeting oil infrastructure and airports. A strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport earlier this month killed at least a dozen peopleincluding an American citizen, and injured hundreds of others.
Last weekend, U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries warned Americans to exercise caution due to Houthi attacks.
Although the United States and Iran have refrained from striking each other in recent weeks, President Trump has not ruled out resuming hostilities after next month’s midterm elections. Iran also continued to take responsibility for attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
At a campaign rally in Florida on Friday, Mr. Trump suggested that the United States could launch another operation against Iran if Tehran fails to reach a deal.
“We could do another little Epic Fury, or they will agree,” the president said, referring to the name of the US military campaign launched in February.
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