U.S. intelligence has warned that Iranian plots to kill Americans abroad have reached “advanced stages,” as Washington reduces diplomatic staffing across the Middle East amid mounting threats and the prospect of renewed military strikes against Tehran.
The warning was contained in an unclassified October 23 memorandum from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, obtained and published by Axios, which reported that the intelligence was among the factors driving the diplomatic drawdowns.
“Through various channels, we have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel,” Clayton wrote. “The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.”
The memorandum, which also copied CIA Director John Ratcliffe, warned that intelligence concerning the Iranian threats was relevant to more State Department personnel than were currently cleared to receive it.
Clayton said the information had already been shared with appropriately cleared senior State Department officials and offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible so Rubio could distribute it more widely.
The document did not identify specific targets, disclose the nature of the alleged plots, or name the countries outside the Middle East where Americans could be at risk.
U.S. officials have separately confirmed the memorandum’s authenticity to multiple news outlets, including CNN, which also obtained a copy. A U.S. official told Al Arabiya English Washington correspondent Joseph Haboush that Iranian plots targeting American officials, alongside threats of attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis, were informing staffing adjustments at U.S. embassies operating under restrictions across the Middle East.