Iran targeting US diplomats? Intelligence warns of 'advanced' assassination plots: Report

US intelligence has found that Iran has ‘substantially increased’ its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with lethal plots reaching ‘advanced stages’, according to an October 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio obtained by Axios. The intelligence has raised concerns among US officials about potential threats to American personnel and is one reason the State Department is reducing staffing at several US embassies across the Middle East amid fears of a wider regional conflict.

US officials are also concerned that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could expand their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region. The possibility of renewed US and Israeli military operations against Iran, potentially after the midterm elections, is adding to the volatile security situation. President Trump addressed the possibility of further military action against Iran at a rally in Florida on Friday. "We may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree [to a deal]," President Trump said at a rally in Florida on Friday. "If they're smart, they will just say, 'Let's get down to business,' but I doubt they will do that because perhaps they're not smart."

Intelligence memo warns of Iranian assassination plots

In a one-page, unclassified memo obtained by Axios, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Rubio that intelligence concerning Iranian assassination plots needs to be shared with more US personnel than are currently authorized to receive it. The memo does not identify specific targets, countries outside the Middle East or the nature of the plots. However, it states that the underlying intelligence has already been shared with senior State Department officials. Clayton offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible, allowing Rubio to distribute it more widely among personnel who could be at risk.

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The memo Photograph: (Axios)

US reduces diplomatic staffing across the Middle East

Earlier this week, the State Department ordered family members and nonessential personnel to leave the US Embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, the department also ordered reductions in US diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a US official said. "We decided that due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff," the official said.