U.S. is reducing staffing at 4 Middle East embassies over increased threats from Iran
In a memo sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said his teams "have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel."
The U.S. State Department is reducing staffing at four embassies in the Middle East, including Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, due to heightened threats from Iran and Yemen's Houthi rebels. This intelligence, according to a memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, indicates Iran has significantly ramped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere.
The embassies will continue to operate, but nonessential personnel and their families will not be required to leave the countries like those in Saudi Arabia. The State Department did not directly link the staffing reductions to threats from Iran, rather focusing on the growing conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
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