US Warns of Advanced Iranian Plots Against Americans Abroad, Cuts Diplomatic Staff in Middle East

United States intelligence agencies have warned that Iran is in the "advanced stages" of plans to target US personnel abroad, according to US officials and an internal memo cited by Axios and The New York Times. The warning has put American staff in the Middle East on high alert.

The memo was sent by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was first reported by Axios. Clayton wrote that US agencies had gathered intelligence showing Iran has "substantially increased efforts to target US personnel" overseas, with lethal plots reaching advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries.

The Times, citing unnamed officials, reported that threats to American officials, including ambassadors, have been assessed in recent weeks and that Iran has lined up potential targets in Europe. Some intelligence also suggests Iranian operatives are already active inside the US. Washington has not commented publicly on the memo, though a US official told the Times it is authentic. Another official played down Iran's ability to carry out attacks, saying it lacks the capacity to follow through on all its ambitions.

Officials told the Times that threats to US citizens in the Middle East are now "at the highest level" since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. The assessment comes amid reports that the US and Israel may be preparing a new military campaign after next month's US mid-term elections. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US "may do another little epic fury", using the codename for the war.

The State Department announced on Wednesday that it was removing non-essential staff from its embassy in Saudi Arabia, citing escalating attacks on Saudi infrastructure by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Several US media outlets have reported quiet staff reductions at other missions, and CNN said these include embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon. A US official told the Times that Houthi attacks and "Iranian terror plots targeting US officials" were driving the decisions.

Iran has not responded to the memo. Its officials have, however, repeatedly threatened and carried out attacks on US bases and those of its allies in the region, and the Pentagon has confirmed that 21 US military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the war began. On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Tehran would adopt a new "offensive" strategy if the US renewed attacks, no longer limiting itself to retaliation, and added that the quality, range and power of Iranian missiles had improved.

Reuters, citing two senior Iranian security officials, reported that Tehran has detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if new US-Israeli attacks occur. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei has also warned that cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could be hit if war resumes.

US authorities have long accused Iran of plotting against Americans. In March, a US court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate Trump and other politicians on the orders of the Revolutionary Guard. In 2022, a Guard member was charged with trying to arrange the killing of former national security adviser John Bolton, allegedly offering $300,000 to people in the US to carry it out. Last year, the US intelligence community said Iran would "continue to directly threaten US persons globally", especially officials it believed were involved in the 2020 killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

This month, the US abruptly pulled bombers from an airbase in England over fears of a possible attack. The move followed a security incident at the base, after which UK authorities arrested several men on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence.