๐Ÿšจ DEADLY PLOTS GO GLOBAL: US Intelligence Warns Iran Is Targeting Americans Abroad 

 

U.S. intelligence is warning that Iran has substantially stepped up its efforts to target Americans overseas, with some plots reportedly reaching "advanced stages." The warning comes from a memo sent on Friday by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which Axios reported first. According to the memo, the lethal plotting is advanced in both the Middle East and certain other countries, which means the concern goes beyond the region where U.S.-Iran tensions are highest. The New York Times reported that U.S. agencies see the threat as the highest since the war began in February. The memo does not name the targets, the plots or the other countries involved, so how widespread the targeting really is remains an open question.

The warning is already affecting how Washington operates abroad. A U.S. official said embassy staffing is being reduced to essential personnel because of the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots, and the State Department has updated travel advisories for more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Intelligence officials also plan to downgrade the classification of some information so it can be shared with those responsible for protecting Americans overseas. Not everyone sees the danger the same way, though, as another official said Iran's ambitions exceed its capabilities abroad. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has meanwhile warned against further American military action, arguing that escalation could endanger civilians and the global economy. Iran has not been shown in public reporting to have carried out any specific new attack, and the claims rest on U.S. intelligence assessments that haven't been independently verified.