The State Department is reducing staffing at four US embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere. The embassies affected are in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The warning came in a memo sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, according to the Associated Press. Clayton wrote that his teams had received intelligence that Iran had substantially increased efforts to target US personnel, and that Iranian lethal plotting against US citizens had reached advanced stages in the Middle East and certain other countries.
The memo was obtained by the Associated Press and first reported by Axios. Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the memo was sent to Rubio in his role as secretary of state and national security adviser.
The embassies involved already operate under restricted operations status, which has reduced their personnel footprints. They will remain open, and unlike in Saudi Arabia, where nonessential US personnel and their families were ordered to leave on Wednesday, staff in the four countries are not compelled to depart.
In announcing the drawdowns, the State Department pointed to increased threats from Yemen’s Houthi rebels and did not mention threats from Iran directly. Fighting has resumed between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, who have launched missile and drone strikes against Saudi Arabia. US officials have denied the staffing changes are linked to possible renewed US and Israeli strikes against Iran.
Source: Associated Press
