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Iran has ramped up efforts to target Americans overseas, with lethal plots reaching “advanced stages” as the Trump administration weighs renewed military strikes against Tehran, new intelligence is warning.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton alerted Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the threat in a letter Friday, warning that Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target US personnel,” according to a memo first obtained by Axios.
“The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” Clayton wrote.
The one-page, unclassified memo did not identify specific targets or countries outside the Middle East, or say whether any attacks were imminent.
The warning came as Washington pulled back its diplomatic presence across the region amid escalating threats from Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen.
Earlier this week, the State Department ordered non-emergency US government personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia. On Friday, it announced staffing reductions at four other US embassies — in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — without ordering personnel to depart.
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, told a podcaster there “absolutely” could be a US strike on Iran this weekend — despite prior statements from the White House that there would be no such attack before the midterm elections Nov. 3.
That comment prompted a response from President Trump on Friday when asked about it.
“That was my ambassador to Turkey? He’s a pretty powerful man, I guess,” the president said in Florida, alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.). “Well, if that’s the case, I don’t know anything about it.”
Trump, at a Friday night rally in Ft. Myers, referenced the return of US warships — with another military deployment on deck closer to home.
“We’ll do a little stopover,” the president said. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.”
US warships are making preparations for another potential military escalation in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday from aboard the USS George Washington, one of two US aircraft carriers in the region.
“We are always prepared,” said Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, commanding officer of USS George Washington. “We’re always paying attention, focused on our surroundings and ready to react reflexively or proactively.”