Key Takeaways
- Iran has stepped up efforts to target US personnel, according to a senior intelligence official.
- The US State Department has ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia.
- The threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots is influencing US staffing decisions in the region.
A senior intelligence official in the Trump administration has warned that Iran has intensified its efforts to target US personnel, with lethal plots reaching 'advanced stages'.
The warning came in a memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, dated October 23.
The memo follows a reduction in US staffing at its mission in Saudi Arabia due to increased attacks by Houthi forces, which have also led to commercial shipping attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources told Reuters that Iran was preparing a more forceful response if the United States resumes large-scale military attacks on its territory.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was also copied on the unclassified memo, which was first reported by Axios.
In response, the US State Department has ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave US diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia.
The department also plans to withdraw family members from a number of other missions in the region, according to US officials.
On Saturday, the US State Department updated travel advisories for more than a dozen countries across the Gulf and Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Israel, citing an increased threat from Houthis.
The Restricted Operations Status, which provides the State Department more flexibility in personnel decisions, is being used to inform these staffing adjustments.
The Iran war, now in its eighth month, has significantly impacted the approval ratings of US President Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections on November 3.
