Iran is in the "advanced stages" of planning to target Americans across the world, including in Europe, according to reports citing US intelligence officials. The warnings were raised to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alerting him to the dangers faced by State Department employees in the Middle East and other regions, the officials said.
Intelligence memo warns of increased Iranian efforts
A memo from Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, said that agencies had "received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel." The memo added that "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 New York Times reported that the intelligence has prompted heightened concern among US officials, with the Iranian plans also including potential targets in Europe, as US officials confirmed.
US reduces embassy staffing in the Middle East
The developments follow the US ordering its diplomats and their families to evacuate Saudi Arabia over security concerns. The State Department is reducing staffing at four embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence regarding Iran's intentions. Staff have been reduced in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The embassies involved are all under what is known as "restricted operations" status, which has already reduced the size of their personnel footprints. The embassies will remain open. However, unlike in Saudi Arabia, where nonessential US personnel and their families were ordered Wednesday to leave the country, staff in the other four countries are not compelled to depart.
Revolutionary Guard threats and diplomatic efforts
According to Iranian state television, the Revolutionary Guard navy this week again threatened to strike US military bases in the region if the United States keeps helping guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global energy trade.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an opinion column in the Financial Times this week: "Any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere in the region will put civilian lives and the well-being of all regional states and the global economy at great risk." Mediators have been trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks as the war has reached a stalemate.
