US intelligence: Iran has stepped up efforts to kill American officials
US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton has warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iranian assassination plots have reached "advanced stages". The US is cutting staff at several embassies in the Middle East.
US intelligence agencies have obtained information that Iran has significantly stepped up efforts to kill American diplomats and other officials in the Middle East and beyond. The outlet Axios reports that it obtained a one-page memorandum in which US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warns Secretary of State Marco Rubio that such plans have reached "advanced stages".
What the memo says
Clayton says information about Iran's intentions should be shared with more US officials than current rules allow. He proposed lowering the classification level of the material as far as possible so Rubio can pass it to a wider circle of employees who may be at risk. The memo names no specific targets or countries outside the Middle East. It does state, however, that the relevant intelligence has already been given to senior State Department officials.
Embassy staff reductions
American officials say this intelligence is one reason the State Department is reducing personnel at several embassies in the region. Earlier in the week it ordered family members of staff, and personnel not performing critical functions, to leave the US embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday the department also ordered cuts to the number of American diplomats and other government employees at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan.
One official explained that the decision was made because of the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots, so only staff performing critical functions remain. US officials also fear that the Houthis, the Iran-backed movement in Yemen, could widen the geography of their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia.
Plans after the elections
According to The New York Times, US and Israeli military agencies have drawn up concrete plans to resume strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections on 3 November. US President Donald Trump has said Iran is "doing everything possible" to push up oil prices ahead of the vote.
