Key takeaways:
- Clayton warned Rubio that alleged Iranian plots against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries.
- The State Department is reducing staffing at several regional posts and has ordered non-essential personnel and families to leave its Saudi Arabia embassy.
- Trump said Friday that the United States may launch another operation against Iran; NBC News reported that military officials have presented him with strike options.
Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel abroad, and plots to kill Americans have reached “advanced stages,” Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Friday in a memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” Clayton wrote in the unclassified memo, obtained by CBS News and confirmed as authentic to NBC News by a U.S. official. Axios first reported the warning.
The memo does not name potential targets or identify the countries where the alleged plots are underway. It also does not say whether attacks are imminent, CBS News reported. Clayton said the risk was “relevant to more individuals than are currently cleared to receive this information” and that intelligence officials would work to downgrade sensitive material so the State Department could share it more widely with its personnel.
The warning comes as the State Department reduces staffing at diplomatic posts in the Middle East and the U.S. military scales back its presence at regional bases. Posts in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan are among those facing further staff reductions, according to a State Department official cited by NBC News. Those posts have been operating with limited staffing under “Restricted Operations” status since the war began in February.
The State Department also placed the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia under “ordered departure” this week, leaving it with emergency staff. CBS News reported that non-essential embassy personnel and their families were ordered to leave.
“When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment,” a U.S. official said. “The threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting U.S. officials are informing our decisions on staffing adjustments for embassies on Restricted Status in the region.”
CBS News reported that Houthi militants have stepped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and airports. A strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport earlier this month killed at least a dozen people, including a U.S. citizen, and injured hundreds more, the outlet reported. U.S. embassies in several countries warned Americans last weekend to exercise caution because of Houthi attacks.
The precautions coincide with renewed discussion of U.S. military action against Iran. At a Florida rally Friday, President Donald Trump said, “We may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to the initial U.S. strike campaign. “If they’re smart, they’ll just say, let’s get down to business,” he added.
Senior military officials have presented Trump with options for new strikes, NBC News reported, citing officials familiar with the discussions. The options include attacks on entrances or tunnels at Iranian nuclear facilities and on strategic islands, including Kharg Island and Qeshm, according to the report.
Iran proposed a deal last month to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days, but Trump rejected it publicly without giving a specific reason, NBC News reported. After Trump accused Iran of trying to raise oil prices ahead of the midterm elections, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: “We don’t care about U.S. midterm elections. We care about our national interests.”
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