In an unclassified memo dated Thursday, 22 October 2026, the US Director of National Intelligence warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Islamic Republic plots to assassinate American citizens and officials in the Middle East and some other countries have reached an "advanced stage". A day later, the State Department ordered staff cuts at US embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan.
The one-page memo, whose details were published on Friday, 23 October, does not name the targets, the countries outside the Middle East or the type of plots. In it, the Director of National Intelligence asks that information on these threats be shared with more State Department staff and proposes reducing the classification of sensitive information as far as possible so that officials at risk are made aware of it.
US embassy staff cuts in the region
A US official said that because of the threat of Houthi attacks and the Islamic Republic's terrorist plots, the United States is reducing its presence and keeping only essential staff. The United States had earlier ordered family members and non-essential staff of its embassy in Riyadh and its consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran to leave Saudi Arabia, after Houthi attacks on Saudi cities, including the deadly attack on Dammam airport.
US officials had at first attributed these moves mainly to the escalation of Houthi attacks and denied any link to a possible new US and Israeli strike on the Islamic Republic. The memo shows, however, that the Islamic Republic's direct threat against US diplomats also plays a part in the decision. At the same time, Donald Trump said in Florida on Friday that the United States may carry out another military operation against the Islamic Republic.
The Islamic Republic's record of transnational terrorism
The new warning continues a long record. This week, on the anniversary of the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, the White House said the Islamic Republic ordered that attack. In recent months, courts in Britain and Germany have also heard cases of attack plots and espionage by Islamic Republic agents against Jews, Iranian opponents and journalists of independent Persian-language media.
The US Director of National Intelligence says the Islamic Republic's assassination plots against Americans have reached an advanced stage.
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