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US Warns of Advanced Iranian Attacks on Americans
Confirmed
In Short: The State Department is reducing staffing at four US embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere.
US intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned that Iran has increased its efforts to target US personnel, with threats reaching advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries.
Clayton's memo, first reported by NBC News, cited intelligence indicating Iran has substantially increased its efforts to target US personnel overseas.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, “The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them.”
The State Department has placed staff on high alert, with embassies in Saudi Arabia operating only with emergency staff due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots.
NBC News reported that the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia is under “ordered departure,” meaning it will operate only with emergency staff.
The Pentagon confirmed that 21 US military personnel have been killed in the Middle East since the war on Iran began in February.
NBC News reported that embassies in the region have already been placed on a “restricted operations” status, reducing their staffing levels.
NBC News also noted that the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots targeting US officials are driving staffing decisions for embassies on restricted status.
The State Department is reducing staffing at four US embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere.
The embassies involved are all under what's known as “restricted operations” status, which has already reduced their personnel footprints.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “We don’t care about U.S. midterm elections.”
What's confirmed
- "We have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel," Clayton said in a memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a US official.
- "When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment."
- "The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries," said the memo, which was first.
What's still developing
- "Monitoring systems are recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink/Starshield. We are registering a speed of more than 400 km/h, the connection is stable," Defence Minister Yevgeniy Khmara said in a statement.
- "Both aircraft went down within the base perimeter, with no other casualties reported," Philippine Air Force spokesman Colonel Alvin Capinguian said in a statement.
- "We may do another little Epic Fury" Trump said, referring to the US name for its attacks on Iran.
- Ukraine again has a "stable connection" to Starlink, the government said on Saturday, after days of tensions with Washington over the SpaceX-made network crucial to the Ukrainian army's operations.
- The individual allegedly “attempted to pay individuals in the United States $300,000 to carry out the murder in Washington DC or Maryland”, according to the US Department of Justice.
- “If they’re smart, they’ll just say, let’s get down to business,” he added.