Iran has ramped up efforts to target U.S. personnel, intelligence memo warns
The alert from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton came after Washington scaled back staffing at its mission in Saudi Arabia last week.
President Donald Trump cautioned Iran on Friday of an impending military strike if Tehran fails to engage in diplomatic negotiations with the United States, predicting another "Epic Fury" similar to the initial US military operation. Trump mentioned the previous "Epic Fury" during a campaign rally in Florida and stated that if Iran behaved sensibly, the United States would agree to talks. However, he doubted Iran's willingness to engage in serious dialogue.
Trump also mentioned that returning US warships could pass by Cuba before sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio to negotiate with Iran. The president's threats extended to American officials, with a new intelligence report indicating that Iran had significantly increased efforts to target US diplomats in the Middle East. The report suggested that some plots against US diplomats were nearing advanced stages, according to Axios.
In addition to Iran's cyber threats, US officials expressed concerns about Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen potentially expanding attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region. The US state department announced a reduction in staffing at embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, citing threats from Iran and Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The reduced staffing levels did not result in the closure of these embassies, which remained open under "restricted operations" status.
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