Iran is reportedly significantly increasing efforts to assassinate American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and other regions.
The machinations have reached "advanced stages," according to Axios, which cited a United States intelligence memo dated October 23.
The attempts, amid Houthi attacks and potential renewed offensive in Iran, have caused the State Department to cut diplomatic staff in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
President Donald Trump, at the weekend, parried a question about the new intel report on Iran's alleged plots. "They are bad people, very bad leadership. They killed 75,000 protesters," he replied.
The US is gearing up for possible strikes against Iran, with sailors loading munitions and preparing aircraft aboard the USS George Washington warship, per The Wall Street Journal.
The Pentagon has deployed the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group to the Middle East, joining USS George Washington and USS George H.W. Bush.
Russia, however, has denied that its diplomats and specialists working at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant were being evacuated, saying they had no plans to leave.
In a statement on Saturday, the Russian Embassy in Tehran dismissed reports of evacuations as inaccurate and confirmed that operations were continuing as usual.