US Intelligence Warns Iran Is Stepping Up Plots to Kill US Officials
US intelligence has received information that Iran has significantly stepped up its efforts to kill American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, Axios reported, as relayed by Ukraine's European Pravda.
The memo
In a one-page memo obtained by the outlet, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio that information about the Iranian plans should be shared with more American officials than is now allowed. The memo says the assassination plots have already reached "advanced stages".
It names no specific targets or countries outside the Middle East. It says the relevant intelligence has already been passed to senior State Department officials. Clayton proposed lowering the secrecy level of the information as far as possible so that Rubio could share it with a wider circle of staff who may be at risk.
Embassy staff cuts
US officials say the intelligence is one reason the State Department is reducing staff at several American embassies in the Middle East. Earlier this week the department ordered family members of employees and non-critical personnel to leave the US embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran.
On Friday the department also ordered cuts in the number of American diplomats and other civil servants at US embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a US official said. US officials also fear that the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen could widen the geography of their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia.
"We decided that, because of the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terrorist plots, it is necessary to reduce our presence and leave only personnel performing critical functions," the official said.
Other reports
According to The New York Times, US and Israeli military agencies have drawn up specific plans for resuming strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3. President Donald Trump said Iran is "doing everything it can" to push up oil prices ahead of the vote. Meanwhile, in the Pentagon, a historic globe that belonged to Eisenhower was broken while being moved into the office of its chief, Pete Hegseth.
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