Iran intensifies plots against US officials in the Middle East: report
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs the White House en route to Iowa, in Washington, DC, US, October 22, 2026. Photo: Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another military operation against Iran just as the Iran war nears its eight-month mark and rising fuel prices weigh on the US midterm elections.
"We may do another little Epic Fury," Trump told a rally in Florida, using the US military's term for its war on Iran. He did not elaborate.
Trump said the US could end the war quickly but questioned whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down.
Trump, who has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war, has said in recent campaign remarks that the war will end soon, "one way or the other."
He said this month the US would not launch an attack on Iran before the November 3 elections that will determine control of Congress, where Trump's Republican Party holds a narrow majority in both chambers.
Iran intensifies plots against US officials in Mideast: report
US intelligence found that Iran has sharply stepped up efforts to target American officials in the Middle East and other countries, with lethal plots reaching advanced stages, Axios reported on Friday.
The report cited a memo dated October 23 from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which said the information is relevant to more personnel than are currently cleared to see it.
The one-page unclassified memo does not name targets, countries outside the Middle East, or the nature of the plots.
The report said the underlying intelligence has been shared with senior State Department staff, and Clayton offered to downgrade it as much as possible so Rubio can share it more widely.
A US official told the outlet that the intelligence is one reason the agency is reducing embassy personnel in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar, and Jordan, as first reported by CNN.