Two senior Iranian officials said on Saturday that US diplomats and other American personnel could be targeted if the war escalates, a threat made as Washington reduces diplomatic staffing across the Middle East and weighs further military action against Iran. One of the officials was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and both spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
The officials told the New York Times that potential attacks would be retaliation for US and Israeli strikes that killed Iranian officials and their relatives. They said the deaths of dozens of Iranian officials and some family members had made Americans “fair game” for retaliation.
The war began after the United States and Israel struck Iran on 28 February. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.
Washington ordered nonessential personnel to leave diplomatic missions in Iraq, Jordan and Bahrain on 2 March.
In June, the US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement collapsed within weeks.
A four-year-old informal ceasefire then began to come apart in July, when the Houthis announced a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton sent an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, warning that Iranian efforts to plan lethal attacks on US citizens had reached advanced stages in the Middle East and certain other countries.
The memo said Iran had substantially stepped up efforts to target US personnel in the Middle East and elsewhere.
US intelligence now assesses the danger to Americans in the region and beyond as the highest since the US-Iran war began in February.
Analysts have spent roughly three weeks reviewing intelligence on possible attacks against American officials, including ambassadors. Some of the intelligence suggested Iran may have operatives inside the United States, while analysts were also examining possible targets in Europe.
One US official cautioned that Tehran may want to do more than it can actually carry out in the United States or other countries outside the region.
On Wednesday, chiefs of mission at several US diplomatic posts in the Middle East were told that their missions would operate with reduced staff. The State Department also said the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia was under “ordered departure” and would operate only with emergency staff.
The department ordered nonessential employees and family members to leave Saudi Arabia, and directed staffing reductions at posts in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan.
Diplomatic posts across the region have operated under “restricted operations” with limited staffing since the war began.
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, said on X: “The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them.”
US officials confirmed that President Donald Trump and senior administration figures have received regular briefings on the threat.
Trump said this week that he was considering another operation against Iran. At a rally in Florida on Friday, he said: “We may do another little Epic Fury”, referring to the US name for the initial wave of strikes.
Military options put to Trump include major strikes on tunnels or entrances at Iran’s nuclear facilities, including Pickaxe Mountain, and strikes on its strategic islands.
Iran proposed a fresh deal last month to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days. Trump publicly rejected it, saying Iran wanted a deal “because they’re losing so badly.”
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said: “We don't care about U.S. midterm elections. We care about our national interests.”
The danger has already extended to Saudi Arabia’s airports. At least 21 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since the start of October.
A missile strike on Riyadh’s international airport on 10 October killed 13 people and injured 308 others, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
All 12 US B-1 bombers based at RAF Fairford in southern England were withdrawn in early October after commanders received information about a possible Iranian threat to the base.
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