Iran has intensified efforts to target Americans abroad, with deadly operations reaching “advanced stages” as the Trump administration considers whether to resume military strikes against Tehran, according to a new intelligence warning.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton notified Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the threat in a letter sent Friday, saying Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target US personnel,” according to a memo first reported by Axios.
“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 one-page, unclassified memo did not name specific targets or countries beyond the Middle East. It also did not indicate whether an attack was considered imminent.
The alert came as Washington reduced its diplomatic footprint across the region amid rising threats from Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen.
Earlier this week, the State Department directed non-essential US government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, the department announced staffing cuts at four additional US embassies — in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — but did not order personnel to leave those countries.
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Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, told a podcaster that a US attack on Iran this weekend was “absolutely” possible, despite earlier White House statements that no such strike would take place before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
President Trump responded to the remark Friday when reporters asked him about it.
“That was my ambassador to Turkey? He’s a pretty powerful man, I guess,” Trump said in Florida alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.). “Well, if that’s the case, I don’t know anything about it.”
At a rally Friday night in Fort Myers, Trump also referred to the return of US warships and suggested another military deployment could be headed closer to home.
“We’ll do a little stopover,” the president said. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.”
US warships are preparing for another possible escalation in the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday from aboard the USS George Washington, one of two American aircraft carriers operating in the region.
“We are always prepared,” said Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, the commanding officer of the USS George Washington. “We’re always paying attention, focused on our surroundings and ready to react reflexively or proactively.”
