Clayton Orders Staff Withdrawals From Seven Middle East Missions
A National Intelligence Director memo cites advanced Iranian plots as the State Department reduces diplomatic presence in the region.
By Samir Doyle ·
The United States has begun withdrawing non-essential diplomatic staff from seven missions in the Middle East. This action follows a warning from intelligence agencies that Iran is in the advanced stages of planning attacks on American personnel.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton sent the assessment to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The memo states that US agencies have found Iran has substantially increased its efforts to target US personnel overseas. Clayton noted that lethal plots have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries. The New York Times reported that threats to American officials, including ambassadors, have been assessed in recent weeks. The paper also cited intelligence suggesting Iranian operatives are active inside the United States.
A US official confirmed to the Times that the memo is authentic. Another official stated that Iran lacks the capacity to follow through on all its ambitions. Officials told the Times that threats to US citizens in the Middle East are now at the highest level since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. The State Department announced on Wednesday that it is removing staff from its embassy in Saudi Arabia. This move cites escalating attacks on Saudi infrastructure by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
CNN reported that quiet staff reductions are occurring at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon. A US official told the Times that Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots are driving these decisions. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US may do another little epic fury, a phrase he has used for the ongoing conflict. Reports indicate the US and Israel may be preparing a new military campaign after the US mid-term elections next month.
Iran has not responded publicly to the memo. However, Pentagon officials confirmed that 21 US military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the war began. On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Tehran would adopt a new offensive strategy if the US renewed attacks. He added that the quality, range, and power of Iranian missiles have improved.
Reuters cited two senior Iranian security officials who reported that Tehran has detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned that cables, data centers, and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could be hit if war resumes. In March, a US court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate President Trump and other politicians on the orders of the Revolutionary Guard.
In 2022, a Guard member was charged with arranging the killing of former national security adviser John Bolton. The US intelligence community said last year that Iran would continue to directly threaten US persons globally. This month, US authorities pulled bombers from an airbase in England after a security incident. UK authorities arrested several men on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence.
