Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Friday that Iran has substantially increased its efforts to target U.S. personnel abroad, noting that assassination plots against Americans have reached advanced stages across the Middle East and in other countries.
The warning was delivered through an unclassified memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and copied to CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The document outlines that lethal plotting efforts by Iranian actors have progressed significantly, though the memo does not identify specific targets, particular countries hosting the plots, or indicate whether attacks are imminent. Clayton noted that the intelligence community is actively working to downgrade sensitive intelligence so it can be shared more broadly with State Department personnel.
The intelligence warning coincides with broad administrative adjustments. The State Department has altered staffing levels at diplomatic posts throughout the Middle East, while the U.S. military has quietly pared back its regional footprint amid mounting concerns over direct threats from Tehran and the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen. Earlier in the week, the State Department ordered non-essential embassy personnel and their families to depart Saudi Arabia. Several other American embassies transitioned to restricted operations status, enabling them to reduce personnel without issuing formal ordered departures.
Security concerns have intensified following a series of escalations involving Houthi militants, who have escalated drone and missile strikes against Saudi Arabia, targeting airports and oil infrastructure. A strike earlier this month on Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport resulted in at least a dozen fatalities—including a U.S. citizen—and left hundreds injured. In response to the growing violence, U.S. embassies across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and neighboring nations issued security warnings last weekend advising American citizens to exercise heightened caution.
While direct strikes between the U.S. and Iran have paused in recent weeks, the Trump administration weighs resuming military operations against Iran as next month’s midterm elections approach. President Trump suggested during a Friday campaign rally in Florida that the United States could initiate further military action if Tehran fails to secure an agreement, invoking the name of the military campaign launched in February.
Meanwhile, Iran has continued to claim responsibility for attacks targeting oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials maintain that ongoing evaluations of the regional security environment, driven by the persistent threat of Houthi actions and Iranian terror plots, will continue to dictate diplomatic staffing decisions and military deployments across the region.
