Iran’s lethal plotting against U.S. citizens has reached “advanced stages,” Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a memo dated Friday, as the State Department cut staff at several embassies across the Middle East.1,4,5
Axios first reported the one-page, unclassified memo, and a U.S. official confirmed its authenticity to NBC News. The memo says Iran has “substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel” abroad, and the warning came days after sources told NBC News that the U.S. military was quietly scaling back its troop presence at bases across the Middle East.1,4,5
The memo does not identify specific targets or the countries where the plots are underway, and it does not indicate whether attacks may be imminent. Axios reported that it also does not describe the nature of the plots. In the memo, Clayton wrote: “The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.” The Hill described the document as declassified, while CBS News and Axios described it as unclassified.3,4,5
Clayton also wrote that the risk is “relevant to more individuals than are currently cleared to receive this information.” He added: “We will make every effort to downgrade as much intelligence as possible so you can share it with State Department personnel at your discretion.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe was copied on the memo.1,4,5
The memo’s warning arrived as the State Department was reducing its presence in the region. Earlier this week, the department ordered family members and nonessential personnel to leave the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, it also ordered reductions in U.S. diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a U.S. official said.5,1,4
Those posts were already on “Restricted Operations” status and had been functioning with limited staffing since the start of the war with Iran. The State Department and the Defense Department began similar drawdowns at bases and embassies around the start of that war in February, NBC News reported. A U.S. official and a senior U.S. military official told CBS News that the military has been quietly reducing its footprint at posts in the Middle East due to ongoing threats.1,4
The concerns extend beyond Iran. Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up 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 people, including a U.S. citizen, and injured hundreds more. Last weekend, U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries warned Americans to exercise caution. U.S. officials also fear the Iran-backed Houthi rebels could expand their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia, Axios reported.4,5
President Donald Trump said this week that he was considering another operation against Iran, after months of strikes on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and limited progress toward a long-term ceasefire. The U.S. and Iran have refrained from striking each other in recent weeks, and Trump has not ruled out restarting hostilities after next month’s midterm elections. Iran has also continued to take responsibility for attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.1,4
At a rally in Florida on Friday, Trump said, “We may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to the name of the initial wave of U.S. strikes. “If they’re smart, they’ll just say, let’s get down to business,” he added. CBS News quoted him as saying the U.S. could launch another operation against Iran, “or they’ll agree.” Axios quoted him as saying he doubted Iran would take that path “because perhaps they’re not smart.”1,4,5
The memo does not say whether attacks may be imminent, and the intelligence community is working to make the underlying material available to more State Department personnel.4
A U.S. official explained the staffing decisions to Axios in terms of the threats the department faces. “We decided that due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff,” the official said.5
