Clayton Orders Staff Cuts at Seven Missions After Iran Threat Assessment

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton directed a reduction in staffing at seven United States diplomatic missions in the Middle East this week. The order followed an internal memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which details intelligence regarding Iranian efforts to harm American personnel abroad.

Clayton wrote that US agencies have determined Iran has substantially increased its focus on targeting US personnel. The memo states that lethal plots have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other regions. The New York Times reported that these threats extend to ambassadors and other senior officials. Unnamed officials told the Times that Iran has also identified potential targets in Europe.

Some intelligence suggests Iranian operatives are currently active inside the United States. A US official confirmed to the Times that the memo is authentic. However, another official noted that Iran may lack the capacity to execute all of its planned attacks. Washington has not issued a public statement regarding the specific details of the memo.

Officials told the Times that threats to US citizens in the Middle East are now at their highest level since the war between the US and Israel began on February 28, 2026. The State Department announced on Wednesday that it is removing non-essential staff from its embassy in Saudi Arabia. This decision cited escalating attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen against Saudi infrastructure.

CNN reported that similar quiet staff reductions are occurring at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon. A US official stated that Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots are driving these decisions. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US may conduct another operation using the codename for the current war, referring to it as a potential "little epic fury."

Iran has not responded directly to the memo. Its officials have continued to threaten US bases and allies in the region. The Pentagon confirmed that 21 US military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the conflict began. On Wednesday, Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guard, said Tehran would adopt an offensive strategy if the US renewed attacks. He added that the quality and range of Iranian missiles have improved.

Reuters reported that two senior Iranian security officials detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if new US-Israeli attacks occur. Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's security chief, warned that data centers and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could also be hit. In March, a US court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate Trump on orders from the Revolutionary Guard.