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A U.S. intelligence memo warns that Iran is stepping up efforts to kill Americans in the Middle East and beyond as tensions in the region escalate.
Iran-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, while Tehran’s forces have expanded strikes against commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The region is also bracing for the U.S. military to potentially resume its bombing of Iran after next month’s midterm elections.
In an Oct. 23 memo to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton wrote that “through various channels, we have received intelligence that Iran has significantly increased its efforts to target U.S. personnel,” according to a U.S. official. Rubio is also the national security adviser to US President Donald Trump.
“Lethal Iranian conspiracy efforts against American citizens have reached an advanced stage both in the Middle East and in some other countries,” the memo continued.
Clayton also said that “it has become clear that certain intelligence and analysis regarding Iranian efforts to target U.S. government officials in the Middle East and certain other regions concerns a greater number of individuals than are currently authorized to receive such information.”
The memo comes after the US State Department ordered some personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia earlier this week, citing increased attacks by the Houthis, who have hit the kingdom’s oil infrastructure and civilian airports.
A Saudi-led coalition said Saturday morning that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh.
Saudi civil protection authorities had issued alerts for the capital, Wadi Al-Dawasir and Najran, before declaring that the danger had passed.
The U.S. official suggested the new intelligence could lead to more government employees being withdrawn from the region. “Regarding embassy personnel, we are constantly evaluating new information on the security environment,” the official said.
“The threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terrorist plots targeting U.S. officials informs our decisions regarding adjusting embassy staffing levels” with a reduction in operations in the region.
News of Clayton’s memo was first reported by Axios.
Oil prices hit $117 a barrel on Friday for the first time since April, driven by growing fears of a further escalation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and worries about dwindling global oil stocks. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 3.8% to $117.45 a barrel during the afternoon in New York, then settling at $116.72.
Trump has said he may launch a new bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic after the November 3 midterm elections. His Republican Party is trying to maintain control of Congress amid an unpopular conflict, which has driven up the prices of gasoline and goods for American consumers.
At a rally in Florida on Friday evening, Trump told the crowd that the United States could launch another military operation against Iran.
“We could do another little Epic Fury,” he said, referring to the Pentagon’s name for the war Trump launched against Tehran in February alongside Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election battle on Tuesday, is also pushing to resume large-scale strikes against Iran.
The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, admitted to the FT this week that Washington could still find itself at an impasse with Iran within a year.
“One would hope that they would come to the table in a meaningful way before then,” he said.
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