Axios: Iran Is Planning Assassination Attempts On U.S. Officials

24.10.2026, 10:13

The Director of National Intelligence warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

U.S. intelligence has determined that Iran has “significantly stepped up” its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond. Moreover, these deadly plots have reached an “advanced stage.”

This was reported by Axios.

The publication obtained a memo stating that the Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the threat from Iran.

He emphasized that the information should be shared with a wider range of U.S. officials than just those currently authorized to receive it.

The memo does not specify particular targets, countries outside the Middle East, or the nature of the plots. However, it states that the original information had already been conveyed to high-ranking State Department officials.

Clayton proposed reducing the classification level of the intelligence to the lowest possible level so that Rubio could share it with a wider circle of individuals who are potentially at risk.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department ordered family members and non-essential personnel to leave the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, as well as the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran.

Also on Friday, October 23, the department ordered a reduction in the number of U.S. diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar, and Jordan.

According to sources, U.S. intelligence is one of the reasons why Washington is reducing the presence of its diplomats in Middle Eastern countries. Moreover, all of this is happening against the backdrop of fears of a larger-scale regional conflict.

“We have decided that, due to the threat of attacks by the Houthis and Iranian terrorist plots, we need to reduce our presence and retain only essential personnel,” the official said.

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