21 US troops killed as intelligence memo confirms advanced Iranian threats

Twenty-one US military personnel have died in the Middle East since the war with Iran began on February 28. The Pentagon confirmed those deaths as Washington reacted to new intelligence warnings. The threats have reached their highest level in months. US officials say Iran is actively planning lethal attacks on American staff abroad.

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton sent a memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio detailing the findings. The memo stated that US agencies have gathered intelligence showing Iran has substantially increased its efforts to target US personnel. Clayton wrote that these lethal plots have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries. The memo was first reported by Axios and The New York Times.

The State Department announced on Wednesday that it is removing non-essential staff from its embassy in Saudi Arabia. The move cites escalating attacks on Saudi infrastructure by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Quiet staff reductions are also occurring at other missions in the region. CNN reported that these reductions include embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon.

A US official told The New York Times that Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots targeting US officials are driving these decisions. The official described the threat to US citizens in the Middle East as being at the highest level since the conflict began. Washington has not issued a public statement on the memo, though one official confirmed its authenticity to the Times. Another official suggested Iran may lack the capacity to execute all its planned attacks.

The threat assessment extends beyond the Middle East. The Times reported that intelligence suggests Iran has lined up potential targets in Europe. Some data indicates that Iranian operatives are already active inside the United States. In March, a US court convicted a Pakistani national of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump and other politicians on orders from the Revolutionary Guard. In 2022, a Guard member was charged with arranging the killing of former national security adviser John Bolton by offering $300,000 to operatives in the US.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US may do another little epic fury. He used the codename for the current war while discussing the possibility of a new military campaign. Reports suggest the US and Israel may be preparing for such a campaign after next month's US mid-term elections. This month, the US abruptly pulled bombers from an airbase in England over fears of a possible attack following a security incident. UK authorities arrested several men on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence after that incident.

Iran has not responded directly to the Clayton memo. However, its officials have repeatedly threatened US bases and those of its allies in the region. On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Tehran would adopt a new offensive strategy if the US renewed attacks. He stated that Iran would no longer limit itself to retaliation. Mohebbi added that the quality, range, and power of Iranian missiles had improved.

Reuters cited two senior Iranian security officials who said Tehran has detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf. These plans would activate if new US-Israeli attacks occur. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned that cables, data centers, and artificial intelligence facilities across the region could be hit if war resumes. The US intelligence community said last year that Iran would continue to directly threaten US persons globally, especially those involved in the 2020 killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.