WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community has warned that Iran is aggressively pursuing plans to kill American personnel overseas, as diplomatic missions and military units across the Middle East quietly draw down their presence amid rising regional threats.
In an unclassified memo sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned that Tehran has “substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel” and stated that lethal plotting efforts “have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” CBS News reported. The document, which was also copied to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, did not specify exact targets or geographic locations, nor did it clarify whether attacks were imminent. Axios was first to report the memo’s existence.
Clayton noted that American intelligence agencies are working to downgrade sensitive findings collected from multiple channels to allow wider distribution among State Department personnel.
Embassies cut staff as threats mount
The stark assessment coincides with significant reductions in the U.S. government footprint across the region. Earlier this week, the State Department ordered non-essential employees and all family members to evacuate Saudi Arabia. That decision followed a surge in missile and drone strikes launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, including an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport earlier this month that killed at least a dozen people, among them an American citizen.
Beyond Saudi Arabia, other diplomatic posts are trimming staff under restricted operations status. A State Department official told CNN that facilities in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will see temporary staffing reductions, while personnel levels in Kuwait and Bahrain remain unchanged. A senior military official and an administration official confirmed to CBS News that the Pentagon is also quietly reducing its troop presence across Middle East installations.
“When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment,” an American official told CBS News on Friday, adding that both Houthi aggression and Iranian terror plots are driving staffing decisions.
Diplomatic families face fresh disruption
The abrupt adjustments have sparked frustration among foreign service personnel and their families, many of whom had only recently returned to their assignments after previous evacuations earlier this year. Union representatives described widespread confusion over relocation logistics and financial compensation.
“This echoes the chaos families experienced earlier this year. Some had barely settled back in before being told to leave again,” Nikki Gamer, spokesperson for the American Foreign Service Association, told CNN. Gamer noted that families departing posts that remain under restricted operations rather than formal ordered departure had been instructed to leave without confirmed housing allowances or per diem coverage.
A State Department official told CNN later Friday that all direct-hire personnel and families are receiving per diem support and assistance for schooling and lodging at rates aligned with their domestic geographic locations.
The security measures come against a backdrop of possible renewed conflict. While direct strikes between Washington and Tehran have paused in recent weeks, President Donald Trump reiterated Friday at a Florida campaign event that he could order military strikes if negotiations falter, CNN and CBS News reported. Trump referenced “Epic Fury,” the military operation conducted in February, suggesting similar action could follow next month’s midterm elections.
State Department officials said they plan to share further information with affected diplomatic personnel as security evaluations continue.
