US intelligence chief warns Iran’s plots to kill Americans are at an “advanced stage”

US intelligence agencies assess that Iranian plans for lethal attacks on American officials in the Middle East and other countries have reached an “advanced stage”. The warning is contained in a one-page unclassified memo dated October 23, signed by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and addressed to Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, with a copy to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

“Through various channels we have received information that Iran has significantly intensified efforts to target American personnel,” Clayton writes. “Iranian efforts to plan lethal attacks against American citizens have reached an advanced stage both in the Middle East and in some other countries.”

The purpose of the document, as its subject line shows, is to downgrade the classification of the information so that it reaches more people. Clayton explains that, because the safety of government personnel abroad is a top priority, the evidence on Iranian efforts concerns more people than currently hold the necessary clearance. The material has already been given to senior Rubio aides with the appropriate authorization, and the agency will declassify as much as it can so that the State Department can share it with its staff.

The memo was first reported by Axios, and its reporter Barak Ravid posted the full text. Three US officials confirmed to the Associated Press that the document was sent to Rubio, as AP reported.

Embassy staffing cuts

The warning is directly linked to changes at American embassies. The State Department is reducing staff at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which already operate under “limited operations” status and remain open, without a mandatory departure for employees. A mandatory departure of non-essential personnel and families applies only to Saudi Arabia, ordered on Wednesday because of attacks by the Houthis. Department spokesman Tommy Pigott stressed that the order concerns Saudi Arabia “only”, while in its announcements on the reductions the department spoke of an increased threat from the Houthis.

On Friday evening a US official openly tied both threats to the decisions. “As for embassy staffing, we continually assess every new piece of information on the security environment,” the official said, as quoted by Scripps News. “The threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terrorist plots against American officials drives our decisions on staffing changes at embassies in the region.”

Washington denies that the reductions are connected to new American and Israeli strikes on Iran, for which the two countries have drawn up plans for after the November 3 US midterm elections.