Iran has intensified efforts 'to target US personnel', intel chief warns
WASHINGTON, DC: Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton sounded the alarm: Iran’s stepping up its attempts to go after Americans overseas. Clayton’s memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, October 23, lays it out: plans to target US personnel abroad aren’t just talk anymore; they’re moving forward in the Middle East and beyond. With these threats escalating, the Trump administration is re-evaluating who it sends where, pulling people out or beefing up presence as needed.
This memo lands at a tense moment. US officials are scrambling to rethink security, not only because of Iran’s actions but also because Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen are adding to the mix. Security plans, locations, and personnel numbers are all getting a fresh look. It’s a dynamic, shifting environment, and Washington’s on alert.
Intelligence chief warns of advanced-stage plots against Americans
In the memo obtained by CBS News, Clayton warned that Iranian efforts to target US citizens had intensified and that alleged plots had reached an advanced stage in multiple locations.
"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.
The memo, which was issued as the Trump administration weighs resuming military strikes against Iran, does not identify specific targets or countries where the alleged plots are underway or indicate whether attacks may be imminent.
Clayton said the US intelligence community is working to downgrade sensitive intelligence, received through various channels, so it can be shared more broadly with State Department personnel.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was copied on the memo. The warning follows a series of precautions at US diplomatic facilities across the region.
US adjusts embassy staffing amid regional security concerns
Earlier this week, the State Department ordered non-essential US embassy personnel and their families to depart Saudi Arabia.
Several other American embassies in the region adjusted their staffing under "restricted operations" status, which allows them to reduce the number of personnel without formally going on ordered departure, CBS News previously reported.
A US official told CBS News they’re making decisions about embassy staffing because security risks keep changing; Houthi attacks and Iranian threats against American officials are part of the problem.
Military sites are feeling the strain, too. According to both a US official and a senior military officer, the military's been quietly scaling back its presence at some posts across the Middle East because the threats just aren’t letting up.
Meanwhile, Houthi militants have ramped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, going after oil facilities and airports.
CBS News reported that earlier this month, a strike hit Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport, killing at least a dozen, including one American, and injuring hundreds more.
"When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment," a US official told CBS News on Friday. "The threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting US officials are informing our decisions on staffing adjustments for embassies on RO [Restricted Operations] Status in the region."
"We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree," the president said, invoking the name of the US military campaign launched in February.
