21 US Troops Dead as DNI Warns of Advanced Iranian Plots
Director Jay Clayton tells Secretary Marco Rubio that lethal threats are near completion, prompting staff cuts at seven Middle East embassies.
By Yasmin Farouk ·
Twenty-one US military personnel have died in the Middle East since the conflict with Iran began on February 28. A new internal memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warns that threats to American personnel abroad are now at their highest level since that date.
Clayton sent the warning to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The document, first reported by Axios and confirmed by The New York Times, states that intelligence agencies have found Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel. According to the memo, lethal plots in the Middle East and other countries have reached advanced stages.
US officials told The New York Times that threats to ambassadors and other senior officials were assessed in recent weeks. Intelligence also suggests Iranian operatives are already active inside the United States. While Washington has not made a public statement, one official told the newspaper the memo is authentic. Another official noted that Iran may lack the capacity to execute all of its planned attacks.
The State Department announced on Wednesday that it is removing non-essential staff from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia. This decision cites escalating attacks on Saudi infrastructure by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. CNN reported that quiet staff reductions are also underway at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon. A US official said Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots are driving these moves.
Iran has not responded to the memo directly. However, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said on Wednesday that Tehran will adopt a new offensive strategy if the US resumes attacks. Mohebbi stated that Iran will no longer limit its response to retaliation and that the quality and range of Iranian missiles have improved.
Reuters reported that two senior Iranian security officials said Tehran has detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if new US or Israeli attacks occur. Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned that data centers and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could also be hit if the war resumes.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US may do another little epic fury, referring to the codename for the current war. Reports indicate the US and Israel may be preparing a new military campaign after the mid-term elections. In March, a US court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate Trump on orders from the Revolutionary Guard. This month, US authorities pulled bombers from an airbase in England after a security incident that led UK authorities to arrest several men suspected of working with Iranian intelligence.
Source: Al Jazeera
