US intelligence agencies have warned that Iran is in the “advanced stages” of plans to attack American personnel overseas, prompting Washington to place staff across the Middle East on high alert.
The warning was contained in a memo sent by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It said intelligence agencies had detected a substantial increase in Iranian efforts to target US personnel, including lethal plots in the Middle East and elsewhere.
American officials have assessed threats to senior figures, including ambassadors, in recent weeks. Potential targets have reportedly been identified in Europe, while some intelligence indicates that Iranian operatives may already be active inside the United States.
Why are US officials warning about Iranian attacks now?
The assessment comes as the United States and Israel signal that they could be preparing for a fresh military campaign against Iran. Tehran has threatened to retaliate if attacks resume, with possible targets including undersea communications cables in the Gulf.
Officials have described the threat to US citizens in the Middle East as being at its highest level since the US-Israel war on Iran began in February. The assessment has contributed to a reduction in the number of American diplomatic staff deployed across the region.
On Wednesday, the State Department announced that non-essential staff were being removed from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia, citing escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen against Saudi infrastructure.
Staffing levels have also been reduced at diplomatic missions in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon. A US official said both the risk of Houthi attacks and alleged Iranian plots against American officials were influencing the decisions.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US “may do another little epic fury”, using the codename associated with the US-Israel campaign against Iran that began on February 28.
What is known about the alleged Iranian plots?
Washington has not publicly commented on the intelligence memo, although a US official has confirmed its authenticity. Another official played down Iran’s capacity to carry out every operation it may be considering, saying the country lacked the ability to follow through on all its ambitions.
Iran has not responded to the allegations. Its officials have, however, repeatedly threatened attacks on US bases and those of its allies in the region.
The Pentagon has said that 21 US military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the war against Iran began. On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that Tehran would adopt a new “offensive” strategy if the US resumed attacks.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Iran would no longer restrict its military operations to retaliatory strikes, adding that the range, power and quality of its missiles had improved.
Iranian security officials have also reportedly drawn up plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if new US-Israeli attacks take place. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, previously warned that cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could be attacked if conflict with the US resumed.
Iran’s previous alleged plots against Americans
US authorities have previously accused Iran of supporting operations against American citizens, including alleged assassination attempts against Mr Trump and other US politicians.
In March, a Pakistani national was convicted in the US of plotting to assassinate Mr Trump and other politicians on the orders of the IRGC. An IRGC member was charged in 2022 with allegedly trying to pay people in the US to kill former national security adviser John Bolton.
US intelligence agencies warned last year that Iran would “continue to directly threaten US persons globally”, particularly officials it believed were involved in the 2020 killing of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
This month, the US withdrew bombers from an airbase in Britain after a security incident, with several men arrested on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence.
