U.S. Moves Diplomats and Families From Middle East Posts as Intelligence Warns of Iranian Plots

The United States is moving some diplomats and their family members from posts in the Middle East as the threat of wider regional escalation grows, according to multiple sources familiar with the moves.

An unclassified memo dated October 23 from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target US personnel.” The memo, first reported by Axios and seen by Reuters, said lethal plotting efforts by Iran against American citizens had “reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe was also copied on the memo, according to Reuters.

The State Department said the threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian plots targeting American officials was informing staffing decisions at embassies on restricted operations status in the region, a U.S. official told CNN.

Saudi departure ordered, four other posts adjusted

The State Department this week ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and all family members from Saudi Arabia, officials said, in response to increased attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi forces on Saudi Arabia. The State Department has warned that those hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond the immediate area, according to CNN.

At the same time, the department has quietly adjusted staffing caps at other embassies in the region, including Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, sources told CNN. A State Department official confirmed to CNN that Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan “will see temporary changes to staffing levels under restricted operations.” The official said there were no changes to personnel in Kuwait or Bahrain, which the official said were not over their staffing caps.

Unlike the Saudi Arabia departure, the movements from the other embassies have not been publicly announced. The State Department has stressed that those embassies, unlike Saudi Arabia, have not changed status and remain on restricted operations status, under which staffing levels can still change without a formal change in status.

Families face a second move in months

Many of those leaving had only recently returned to their posts after being ordered out during the height of the Iran war, CNN reported. Nikki Gamer, a spokesperson for the American Foreign Service Association, told CNN that families were “understandably upset, confused, and angry,” and said some families outside Saudi Arabia had been told to leave without confirmed housing assistance or per diem payments because their embassies were not changing status.

Later on Friday, a State Department official confirmed that all U.S. direct hire personnel and their families “are getting per diem allowances and support for lodging and schools, with per diem allowances consistent with government rates of where they are geographically in the country.” The official added that the department was communicating directly with staff affected by the changes and would have more to say in the days ahead.

The moves come as President Donald Trump has suggested he could relaunch strikes against Iran after the midterm elections, and as sources told CNN that Israel had lobbied, unsuccessfully for now, for more immediate action. On Saturday, the State Department updated travel advisories for more than a dozen countries across the Gulf and Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Israel, citing an increased threat from Iran-aligned Houthis, according to Reuters.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and Reuters.