The US Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, has issued a stark warning to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about significantly escalated Iranian efforts to target American officials, with several lethal plots reportedly reaching advanced stages. This critical intelligence, conveyed in an unclassified memo dated October 23, has prompted Washington to strategically reduce its diplomatic footprint across the Middle East this week.
According to Axios, which first reported on the document through its journalist Barak Ravid, Clayton informed Rubio that Iran had "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel." The memo, also copied to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, specified that these lethal plots were at an advanced stage in both the Middle East and "certain other countries." While the intelligence shared with senior State Department officials did not detail specific targets, the countries outside the Middle East, or the precise nature of the plots, Clayton offered to downgrade its classification for broader distribution among State Department staff.
A US official, confirming the memo to IANS, stated that decisions on embassy staffing adjustments are continuously informed by new security information. The official specifically cited "the threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting U.S. officials" as key factors in these reductions for embassies on "RO Status" in the region.
Earlier this week, the State Department initiated the departure of non-emergency staff from the US Embassy in Riyadh and its consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. Further staff reductions followed on Friday at US embassies in the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar, and Jordan. CNN, citing the Jerusalem Post, reported that similar cuts extended to Bahrain and Kuwait, with diplomats describing the process as "chaotic." State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, however, clarified on X that the ordered departure applied specifically to "Saudi Arabia only."
This heightened alert unfolds as President Donald Trump maintains the option of renewed military action against Iran. Speaking at a Florida rally on Friday, Trump declared, "We may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree." Separately, NBC News reported on October 21 that the US military has been discreetly scaling back troop numbers at its Middle East bases.
Image: siasat.com
đź“° Source: Siasat Gulf