Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 24: The United States has begun reducing staffing at four of its embassies in the Middle East following intelligence reports that Iran has significantly increased efforts to target American personnel in the region and other countries.
In a memo sent to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said intelligence agencies had received information indicating that Iran had substantially stepped up efforts to target US personnel.
“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 in the memo.
The Associated Press obtained the memo, which was reported earlier by Axios. Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the document had been sent to Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
The memo emerged shortly after the State Department announced staffing reductions at US embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. According to the officials, concerns over threats from Iran and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels were linked to the decision.
All four embassies are operating under restricted conditions, with personnel numbers already reduced. However, the diplomatic missions will remain open, officials said.
The measures differ from those taken in Saudi Arabia, where non-essential US government personnel and their families were ordered to leave the country on Wednesday. Staff members at the four other diplomatic missions have not been ordered to depart.
When announcing the latest staffing reductions, the State Department specifically cited heightened threats from Yemen's Houthi rebels but did not publicly refer to direct threats from Iran against American personnel.
Meanwhile, US officials have firmly denied that the staffing changes are connected to any potential new US-Israeli military strikes against Iran. The intelligence warning has nevertheless heightened concerns about the safety of American personnel across parts of the Middle East.