Clayton Warns Iran Nears Completion of Plots as US Pulls Staff From 7 Missions

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week that U.S. agencies have gathered intelligence showing Iran has substantially increased efforts to target American personnel overseas, with lethal plots in the Middle East and other countries reaching advanced stages. The memo, reported first by Axios and described by the New York Times, has not been commented on publicly by Washington, though a U.S. official told the Times it is authentic. Threats to U.S. citizens in the Middle East are now at the highest level since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. Some intelligence also indicates Iranian operatives may already be active inside the United States, and Iran has lined up potential targets in Europe, unnamed officials told the Times, including ambassadors. Another official said Iran lacks the capacity to carry out all of its ambitions.

The State Department announced on Wednesday that non-essential staff are being removed from the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia, citing escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure. CNN reported similar reductions at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon. A U.S. official told the Times that both Houthi strikes and Iranian plots targeting U.S. officials drove the decisions.

Iran has not responded to the memo. On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Tehran would shift to a new offensive strategy if the U.S. resumes attacks, ending its practice of limiting itself to retaliation, and said the quality, range and power of Iranian missiles have improved. Reuters, citing two senior Iranian security officials, reported that Tehran has plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if new U.S.-Israel attacks occur. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei has warned that cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could be struck if war resumes.

The Pentagon has confirmed that 21 U.S. military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the war began. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. 'may do another little epic fury', the codename for the war, and reports have circulated that the U.S. and Israel may prepare a new military campaign after next month's mid-term elections.

U.S. authorities have accused Iran of plotting against Americans for years. In March, a U.S. court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate Trump and other politicians on orders from the Revolutionary Guard. In 2022, a Guard member was charged with trying to arrange the killing of former national security adviser John Bolton, allegedly offering $300,000 to people in the U.S. to carry it out. Last year, the U.S. intelligence community said Iran would continue to directly threaten U.S. persons globally, especially officials involved in the 2020 killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. This month, the U.S. pulled bombers from an airbase in England over fears of a possible attack, a move that followed a security incident at the base after which UK authorities arrested several men on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence.