The Director of National Intelligence has warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iran has significantly stepped up efforts to target American personnel, with plotting against U.S. officials now in “advanced stages” in the Middle East and other countries.
DNI Jay Clayton sent the unclassified, one-page memo to Rubio on Friday, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe copied. Clayton did not describe a specific plot, but the memo states: “The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.”
A U.S. official confirmed the memo’s authenticity to Scripps News, and reporting indicates the document was first disclosed by Axios. A separate U.S. official told CNN the memo is genuine and that its substance is “broadly consistent with IC read on things,” while also raising questions about why a warning of this kind would be sent from the DNI to the Secretary of State through a memo seemingly intended for public release.
Clayton emphasized that protecting government personnel overseas remains “a top priority” for the administration and said the intelligence is “relevant to more individuals than are currently cleared to receive this information.” According to the memo, the material has already been shared with appropriately cleared senior staff on Rubio’s team, and Clayton said he would work to downgrade classification levels so Rubio could distribute the information more broadly within the State Department at his own discretion.
The warning comes as U.S. embassies in the Middle East have already been reducing staff in response to repeated attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces in the region — a drawdown this new threat assessment is likely to accelerate.
Trump’s Warning From Florida
President Trump addressed the threat directly while campaigning in Florida for Byron Donalds, the state’s GOP gubernatorial nominee, suggesting the U.S. could respond with another round of military action against Iran if Tehran continues what he characterized as dangerous behavior.
“We may do another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree.”
Trump added that Iran should come to the table: “If they’re smart, they’ll just say, ‘Let’s get down to business.’ But, you know, I doubt they’ll do that because perhaps they’re not smart.”
The reference is to Operation Epic Fury, the earlier U.S. military campaign against Iran whose aftermath, according to the DNI memo, has left remaining Iranian leaders seeking retaliation against American targets.
Observers have noted that Trump’s current term runs through January 2029, meaning any decision on further military action is not constrained by the upcoming midterm elections.
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