US Intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned in a memo that Iran has “substantially increased” its efforts to target Americans.
By Shula Rosen
Iran claimed it downed a US LUCAS drone over Bandar Abbas, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported, as officials confirm reports that the Islamic Republic is preparing to target US officials.
Two senior Iranian officials said Tehran is preparing to target U.S. diplomats and personnel, confirming American intelligence warnings that Iran has intensified efforts against Americans in the Middle East and elsewhere, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The officials, who were not named, told the Times that such tactics are “fair game” in response to U.S. and Israeli targeting of Iranian officials. One of the officials is a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Their comments support concerns raised in a Friday memo from U.S. national intelligence chief Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Clayton warned that Iran has “substantially increased” its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond.
Separately, Washington is accelerating the evacuation of some diplomatic personnel and their families from U.S. missions across the Middle East because of concerns about a possible regional escalation, CNN reported.
In Saudi Arabia, non-essential diplomatic staff and their families are included in an official evacuation order, according to CNN.
Personnel levels are also being quietly reduced at U.S. embassies elsewhere in the region.
CNN reported that the reductions affect American diplomatic missions in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that decisions about embassy personnel are made as the government continues to monitor and assess changes in security threats.
“When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment,” the official said. “The threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting US officials are informing our decisions on staffing adjustments for embassies on RO Status in the region.”
The Iranian officials’ acknowledgment and Clayton’s warning both concern potential attacks on Americans, while the U.S. diplomatic staffing changes are also being shaped by the threat of Houthi attacks, according to the U.S. official.
The reductions extend across several U.S. missions in the Middle East, while the formal evacuation order cited by CNN specifically applies to non-essential personnel and their families in Saudi Arabia.
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