The warning, issued by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, comes as the US State Department reduces personnel at several American diplomatic missions across the Middle East amid concerns about a wider regional conflict.
US intelligence has found that Iran has “substantially increased” efforts to target American diplomats and government officials in the Middle East and other countries, with lethal plots against US citizens reaching “advanced stages”, according to an October 23 memo obtained by Axios.
The warning, issued by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, comes as the US State Department reduces personnel at several American diplomatic missions across the Middle East amid concerns about a wider regional conflict.
In the one-page, unclassified memo, Clayton reportedly offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible to allow Rubio to share it more widely with State Department personnel who could be at risk.
The memo does not identify specific targets, detail the nature of the alleged plots or name the countries where the activity is taking place. It also does not establish that an attack is imminent.
The intelligence warning comes alongside concerns among US officials that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could widen their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region.
What the US intelligence memo says about Iran's alleged plots
In the memo dated October 23, Clayton said the intelligence community had received information through various channels indicating that Iran had significantly increased its efforts to target US personnel.
“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, according to the memo obtained by the news outlet.
Clayton said the information and analysis had already been provided to appropriately cleared senior officials on Rubio's team.
He said there is an effect to downgrade the sensitivity of as much information as possible, allowing it to be distributed more widely at Rubio's discretion.
While the document signals heightened concern within the US intelligence community, it provides no further details about the alleged plots, their intended targets or the methods involved.
Could Iran-backed Houthis expand attacks beyond Saudi Arabia?
The US State Department is drawing down personnel at several American embassies across the Middle East amid concerns over Iranian threats against US personnel and the risk of a broader regional conflict, according to the report. US officials are also concerned that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could widen their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region, the report stated.
Which US diplomatic missions are affected?
The State Department has taken staffing measures at several diplomatic missions in the region as officials assess the security environment.
Earlier in the week, the department ordered family members and nonessential personnel to leave the US Embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, all in Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, it ordered reductions in US diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan.