Iran has “substantially increased” its efforts to target Americans in the West Asia and beyond, U.S. national intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned on Friday (October 23, 2026).
President Donald Trump called off a new wave of strikes. He did not give any indication on timing.
“We have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel,” Mr. Clayton said in a memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a U.S. official. “The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” said the memo, which was first reported by Axios. The U.S. official said: “When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment. “We may do another little Epic Fury” Trump said, referring to the US name for its attacks on Iran.
Washington previously ordered non-essential staff to leave the Gulf ahead of the start of its war against Iran and again in July before U.S.
